Buck's Buckin...

That's a shot of my man Smooth B, looking well, not so smooth. But if I had to play against Trevor Ariza and the Shit Show, well I'd probably lose my cool, too. "Fights" like this seem to break out every so often. Rarely are punches thrown, but most of the time, we are thankful for that (remember those "punches" Shaq threw at Brad Miller several years back?).

Most of the time dudes just like to jaw at one another during these little get-togethers. One has to wonder why this is? Is it because they are simply clear-headed, knowing that if they do throw a punch, they could be suspended for a significant period of time, in turn hurting their squad? Or, is it because they really just do not want to fight? Even in hockey the dudes that are clearly not fighters, are still forced into it, and sometimes, with hilarious results. So, since I've turned this sight into a haven for hockey dorks, and since I am actually just curious, would basketball benefit at all from allowing fights to occur on the court? Two men, no outside interference, bench players still have to remain on the bench, and as soon as someone goes down, then the fight is over.

Now, obviously this has the potential to be greatly exploited. Enforcers being brought into the NBA to take out the opposing team's superstars while airborne, etc. But, was not this the purpose of Charles Oakley on the Bulls? To look after Jordan just in case anything hit the fan? Now, I understand the notion is by and large ridiculous, BUT, if such fights were allowed, then couldn't we see a drop in these hard fouls? For example, would Ariza perhaps have thought twice about the foul, if he knew a former gold glove boxer were on Portland's bench?

Look, I just think it would be a lot more interesting than 10 dudes all gathered around each other just squawking at one another, pretending to be hard, when we all know the game. Make yourself look tough, because on the hardcourt, you will never have to actually prove it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=290309022