Maybe I am oldschool, maybe I just like physical play too much, maybe I come from a different background since I was a huge fan of the Knicks in the 90's but I consider a hard foul as much a part of the game as assist, rebound, block etc.

Yesterday I've seen JR Smith take down Bell and get hit with a flagrant 2. I want you guys to enlighten me, correct me if I am wrong, give me some perspective but i thought it was something one would call a HARD FOUL. Period. The context of course shows it was malicious, Smith was simply pissed off and went after Bell, nut I didn't see anything exceptionally mean in that play.

He didn't come at him from behind. He didn't hit him with an elbow, didn't grab him, didn't push him in mid-air. Went for the ball, very agresivelly with little chance to make a play, true, but after the ball nevertheless...

What I am driving at is this: there are no hard fouls allowed in this game anymore. Guys like Rodman or Oakley would never make it in this league. Every foul that is excessive, meaning 100% sure to stop the player from scoring, and has a little extra POP, is considered malicious and a flagrant.

I understand this comes from BIG MONEY - nobody wants to have their stars watching from the sidelines. Also with so many lame, limp, soft fouls there are many more AND-1's then say 15 years ago. Still...

Each week, here in Poland I play some american dude's in their early 40's, most of them coming of a few years in college B-Ball teams and the foul HARRRD. Shit... my teeth rattle every time I go for a layup. It is kind of funny to see the best players in the world being protected by the rules and refs so much that it almost takes away the physicality of the game.

Maybe NBA is more entertaining now than when, say, Jordan was in his prime, but seriously, it was a different sport. Phantom fouls were always there, but there were also fould that made you cry for mama. And it all went soft now...