"We're not allowed to throw down one bit?" - Joe Mazzulla laments lack of fighting in NBA compared to NHL
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla isn't quite sure why the NBA did away with in-game fights. While leagues like the NHL allow players to throw down in the midst of a game, and leagues like the MLB often see bench-clearing brawls in a season, the NBA has strict rules against fighting.
Last season, Draymond Green served a five-game suspension for escalating a scuffle on-court by placing Rudy Gobert in a chokehold. While Green's history of altercations may have played a part in his suspension, when an on-court struggle takes place, the NBA usually hands out suspensions.
On the flip side, NHL players who fight are handed a five-minute major penalty, however, no suspension is issued except on the rarest of occasions. The way Joe Mazzulla sees things, the NBA should take a page out of the NHL's playbook.
During an appearance on the Zo And Beetle Show this week, Mazzulla said:
“The biggest thing that we rob people of, from an entertainment standpoint, is you can’t fight any more. I wish you could bring back fighting … I just don’t get why some sports are allowed to clear the benches...
"We just have a ball. The other sport has one of the hardest surfaces and playing instrument in pucks and sticks and we’re not allowed to throw down a little bit?”
Of course, part of the reason the NBA is so strict on fights is likely because of the 'Malice at the Palace'. It's an incident from 2004 where a fight between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons spilled over into the crowd.
Joe Mazzulla makes the case for the NBA to add its own power play like in the NHL
In the NBA, shooting fouls are issued when a foul is committed on a player in the act of shooting. In the NHL, however, there are no shooting fouls unless a player were to be awarded with a penalty shot just like in football.
Instead, when a foul like tripping is called in the NHL, the offender is sent to the penalty box for two minutes. During that time, teams play five-on-four with the team who committed the infraction down a player until the time expires.
There are also five-minute major penalties that are issued to players who fight, forcing their team to send a player from the bench in as their replacement until time expires and there's a stop in play.
During his appearance on the Zo and Beetle Show, Joe Mazzulla made the case for the NBA to adopt a penalty kill like the NHL, or football's all-new blue card.
"Hey, I mean, basketball is one of the only sports that doesn't have a power play. I think soccer just put in the 'blue card' where a guy has to go off and it's a 10 on 9. Like we should have a power play.
"There should be like a power play where on a take foul or on a technical, you have to play five-on-four for five seconds or three passes."
Given the infamous Malice at the Palace, it seems unlikely that the NBA will take Joe Mazzulla's advice and make any rule changes to allow for fighting.