Does anyone remember a foul commited by 76ers Marreese Speights over Brian Scalabrine? It was of no consequence, Scal didn't even hit the floor, but it was called a flagrant 2, Speights got ejected and suspended for 1 game.
Can someone explain to me why is Bynum's foul less serious? Or are people arguing this kind of fouls is not that serious and they should only call a shooting foul? Because, in that, case, you'd start watching basketball games where 99% of the shots would be jumpers.
In Europe, in FIBA basketball, the shooter (and the offensive player in general) is not nearly as protected as in the NBA - that's a big reason why there are a lot more of jump-shots in a FIBA game, it's hard to finish in the paint because defenders can get really physical. But even here this would warrant a small suspension to the offender; this kind of fouls, where guys are hit in midair without being able to foresee the contact, is extremely dangerous and, if tolerated and not punished harshly, would ruin the game.
The fact that the foul doesn't look bad doesn't mean it wasn't bad and dangerous. It was.
