The one-game suspension of Milwaukee Bucks player Grayson Allen has been a hot topic among NBA fans over the last few days.
The moment that Allen committed the foul and swatted Alex Caruso down, it was obvious that his action was going to stir up a hornet’s nest of opinions.
It was also obvious that the NBA would do something more to Allen – a simple ejection wouldn’t be enough.
Some people thought he’d sit out five or ten games, others thought it could even be more.
Few people expected that Allen would only be suspended for a single game.
The following has just been announced: pic.twitter.com/sXl5g83Q4J
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 23, 2022
In fact, he should have received a harsher sentence, and the fact that he didn’t get one only makes him that much more of a villain to many.
Dangerous Defense
Some flagrant foul calls in the NBA are a bit over the top, we can all agree to that.
The refs sometimes miss the mark with their choices and give someone a flagrant when it should have been a regular foul.
This is not one of those cases, however.
In fact, it’s hard to find anyone who can tell you with a straight face that this wasn’t a flagrant foul.
It was the worst kind of flagrant: one that could cause serious bodily harm.
This is exactly why the suspension should have been more severe.
Watch the replay of the foul again and you’ll see just how lucky Caruso is – he could have ended up in way worse shape.
With the speed he was moving, the height he was falling from, and the way he landed, there were plenty of ways this could have been a lot worse.
Caruso could have broken quite a few bones in his body or even injured his neck.
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan wasn’t wrong when he claimed the injury could have been career-ending for Caruso.
Billy Donovan's full comments on this below
Called the play "really dangerous" — one that could have jeopardized Caruso's career. Cited Allen's history of plays like this, dating back to college, and called on NBA to look into further. Very passionate response https://t.co/FwL5ciU99M pic.twitter.com/MJ1qOdv1u9
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) January 22, 2022
Some people were calling for Allen to be suspended the same amount of time that Caruso will be out of the game: six to eight weeks for surgery and recovery.
That’s a bit far-fetched and unlikely but he definitely should have gotten more than one game.
Not only does the minimal suspension not seem fair, but it also doesn’t discourage others from acting like Allen in the future.
The league should have sent a harsh, clear signal: doing what Allen did will cost you.
Bulls Blindsided
The loss of Caruso comes at a bad time for the Chicago Bulls, which only makes Allen’s actions even worse.
The Bulls were red-hot for a while and are still in a good position moving forward but they are no longer the top seed in the East and have slipped down to the third place.
They are also missing other players – Lonzo Ball is out for the same amount of time as Caruso and Zach LaVine has been out with an injury too.
Therefore, being down Caruso as well only makes matters worse.
That means that Allen’s foul not only looks really bad, it also puts a huge bump in the road for the Bulls moving forward.
