Does anyone else out there remember this article that came out last year during the playoffs detailing the NBA's abhorance for flopping and their promise to rid it from the game by cracking down on it by imposing technicals and fines and possible suspensions for it? Well whatever happened to that because I haven't heard of a single case this year of a player being fined or T'ed up or anything for this act.

And here' the problem, it hasn't abated the propensity for some players to do it and completely fool referees. Last night's Oscar worthy performances on several occasions by Marco Belinelli not only was responsible for several unwarranted fouls on Ray Allen but also completely took away any momentum the Celtics tried to muster in the fourth quarter when the Warriors were making their move to take over the game.

And this hasn't been a one time occurance. In the Laker's game the worst of the violations happened when Pau Gasol, a man who is 11 inches and 70 pounds larger than Rajon Rondo, hit Rondo squarely in the chest with his right shoulder when the two collided and Rondo went straight down to the ground as if he had been knocked out like a boxer and Gasol, in his haste to get his own Oscar nomination in bringing attention to the fact that he was fouled(and he was, I am not arguing that fact just demonstrating the theatricality with which some of the most reknown floppers will go to to demonstrate to refs that they were fouled), suddenly was thrown back 5 feet in a spinning, "Oh My God I Was Just Shot With A Shotgun", "Everyone Please Look At How This Man Half My Size Just Utterly Destroyed Me" type of flop that some of the non-American players have perfected. It was embarassing. It was the equivalent of Jerome Bettis lowering his shoulder to run over Randall Gay, maybe the slightest CB in the NFL, hitting Gay squarely in the chest and suddenly acting like he had been run over by a Mack Truck.

Manu Ginobelli is back to his old tricks. I've seen Andrea Bargnani run some of his garbage out there recently. I find the practice distatsteful and an insult to the game. I always have and I don't like it when our very own Leon Powe attempts it either, though to his credit he doesn't act as if a man half his size just kicked his ass to the point where he has to flail and grimace while he is doing it.

Please, NBA. You had a great idea that you have completely igmored and now the same old garbage is starting all over again. Stop it! Stop it now before it's too late and such acts start becoming responsible for determining the outcome of playoff games.