Alex has a broken wrist. He is going to be out of action for a while. The NBA has suspended Allen for one game for hitting Caruso out of the air. If you have common sense, this seems a bit unbalanced to you.
The play from Friday night was not a basketball play for those that did not see it. Allen clotheslines Caruso out of the air as he goes for a layup off of a fastbreak.
The Bulls would be angry about this suspension. A member of their team might miss two months of action while someone else misses a night. When the two teams meet again in March, this could result in some kind of justice. The Bulls have to send a message to the rest of the league that cheap shots will not be accepted, because the NBA didn't send a clear enough message with a one-game suspension.
The initial contact can be forgiven. It can be argued that Allen ran into Caruso's arm as he tried to make a play on the ball. There has to be room for people to make aggressive plays, even though he jumped into Caruso a bit recklessly for a professional athlete. Allen decided to swing his second arm. To do what? He explained in a message that he tried to grab the ball with his other hand after he tried to block the shot.
Is it spinning? You know who was spinning, Caruso who was already horizontal after Allen flew into him. Allen tried to explain away the blow he delivered with his other arm with an excuse about trying to retrieve the ball. He never touched the ball. He missed the ball because of his body arm making contact with Caruso's arm and the referee's whistle.
Who tries to recover a basketball? When trying to grab a rebound or recover a loose ball, the object is for players to get their hands to the basketball as quickly as possible. That doesn't happen if you reach your arm back like a professional wrestler. Allen did not touch a ball. He got the back of Caruso's head, causing him to hit the ground harder.
Allen's reputation is bad, but he shouldn't have a bearing on his punishment for getting ejected from a Summer League game. It is not necessary. The act speaks for itself. Allen made a play on a player in the air that resulted in a serious injury. There is no place for that in the NBA. The one game that Allen will not receive for missing will hurt, but not as much as the wrist or the Bulls rotation.
The NBA has been trying to get rid of excessive physical contact for decades. A player can receive a foul for leaving a foot too far out when an opposing player shoots a jump shot.
If the NBA wanted the brawls from the 1980s and 1990s to stop, the fouls of the 1980s and 1990s had to be punished more harshly. The NBA didn't go far enough with his punishment when he was given a foul that would have gotten Allen punched in the face. It's not enough for the Bulls, who might be looking to dish out some United Center-style justice in March.
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