I'm all for giving a hard foul to send a message, but there IS a difference between a hard foul and a flagrant foul.
A "good" hard foul isn't one where you are intentionally trying to injure the guy, a la Wade or Smith, but enough of a bump that there's no way in hell they are getting to the basket and no you mean business. It's a fine line, sure, but there are players who are [dang]ed good at that. Tyson Chandler is a master of the hard foul. Him and Stevenson shut down the Heat with those in the Finals.