Seems Andre Miller wasn’t too pleased with his one-game suspension stemming from a run in he had with Blake Griffin (see it here if you haven’t). While no foul was called on the play the league handed down a suspension after the game. Today Miller responded saying the suspension “shows how soft the league is,” and that “the rules don’t apply to everybody.”
The suspension, says Miller, shows just how much the league has changed:
Back in the day, players like John Stockton — who was a tough-minded player and, actually, some players thought he was dirty — never got suspended for anything. The league has changed. They make the rules, they favor the young guys now. And that’s how it is.
Miller took particular issue with his being punished for an altercation with a rookie:
These young guys get treated so well. Kevin Garnett said the same thing, I don’t know if it was last year or this year, but these young guys get treated like they are proven players. They get treated as if they are All-Stars or All-NBA players already.
Hard to disagree with the statement that the NBA is less physical as the Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Karl Malone style physicality is dealt with much more harshly these days. Remains to be seen how the NBA league office and the Blazers management will respond to these public comments but it’s certain they won’t be happy.
You can read the full interview here.
