this shit always bugs me

i know sports are stupid, but i want to comment about this, because this kind of thing has always bothered me. in some situations in basketball, the proper defensive strategy is to intentionally foul. but good sportsmanship means you don't actually hit the guy very hard, and because the refs should be and are aware of these situations, often just a tiny swipe at him is enough to get the foul call. and that's how it should be, since by not calling a foul in that situation, a ref effectively is telling the defender that he has to hit harder. that is dangerous. in the specific case of yesterday's game, the refs basically send a message that a 6'8" 220lb man has to hit a league superstar even harder if he wants to get a foul call. in a postseason already characterized by excessively flagrant fouls and injured superstars. pretty smart, NBA!