MIAMI - It didn’t take long for Dwyane Wade to realize the NBA is serious about enforcing its no-complaining policy.
Wade drew a technical foul for arguing a call in the Miami Heat’s season-opening loss to the Chicago Bulls, then watched his good friend Carmelo Anthony get ejected Thursday from Denver’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers — a game the Nuggets lost by a point.
While Wade understands the league’s reasoning, the policy still worries him.
“It’s not anything new like a dress code, when you can make a couple calls and get some suits,” Wade said. “It’s something that really goes with the way that you play. And it’s going to make a big difference this year. You’re going to see a lot more techs and see a lot more people getting thrown out.”
The policy, which isn’t new, is being called the “Rasheed Wallace rule” in some circles — and, naturally, the Pistons’ often-argumentative forward was tossed from Detroit’s opener Wednesday for acting out after getting hit with a technical. That night, Sacramento guard Mike Bibby was ejected for arguing during the Kings’ loss to Minnesota.
That made it three marquee players getting ejected in the season’s first three nights.
“It’s going to get worse,” Heat coach Pat Riley said Friday before Miami played host to the New Jersey Nets.
Coaches and players were briefed on the policy in preseason meetings with referees and other league officials. Players are fined $1,000 for each of their first five technicals, $1,500 each of the next five, $2,000 each for five after that and then $2,500 for each technical starting with the 16th. A one-game suspension also comes at that point and for every technical thereafter.
Riley said NBA commissioner David Stern made his position very clear during the coaches’ meetings.
“He came in and said ’Enough. Enough discussion. This is the way it’s going to be. We’re going to stop looking like a bunch of crybabies out there,' " is how Riley remembered Stern’s words.
Wade said players are struggling to find the line they can’t cross.
Players and referees have always engaged in dialogue during games, but when emotions get frayed, it’s easy for frustrations to come out — which is what happened to Wade in the Heat’s 42-point loss Tuesday night.
“If Dwyane walks up to the guy, with some civility, they’ll deal with the conversation for a minute,” Riley said. “If you keep whining over things, they’ll get you then, too. They’ve been warned.”
But Wade said it’s also tough to keep the no-arguing notion in your head during intense moments.
“With anything, you’re going to react,” Wade said. “If I had a bottle of Gatorade right here and I knocked it over, I’d react before it spilled on me. Now they’re not playing around. It’s a quick whistle. It’s a scary thing.”
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