Steve Nash wonders how NBA’s bench-leaving rule will be viewed this time

Former Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash saw two of his teammates earn a suspension for stepping off the bench in a 2007 playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs.

Boris Diaw and Amar’e Stoudemire left the bench area to defend Nash after Robert Horry’s infamous hip check of the Suns point guard, then missed the next outing, a pivotal Game 5, after the NBA’s letter-of-the-law reading of the rulebook earned them suspensions.

Here we are again.

Kevin Love told me he left the bench in OT to argue the call on Tristan, walking onto the court to get in the officials’ eyeline, not in reaction to any scuffle & before it even broke out. Video (via @bballbreakdown) seems to back this up; not sure if it will matter to the league pic.twitter.com/JeHmd6Fl2p

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 1, 2018

In Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals, a late-game altercation between Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green might lead to punishments for them, but there’s also Cleveland’s Kevin Love. He left the Cavs’ bench during the dust-up but won’t be suspended, according to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon.

Kevin Love won’t be suspended, per league source, nor was the league ever seriously contemplating it. It was obvious Love was already on the court and making no motion toward the scuffle. The internet is so silly sometimes

— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) June 1, 2018

Nash, who is now a player development consultant for the Warriors, will be watching the upcoming rulings by the NBA with intrigue.

When Jack McCallum, author of the Suns-focused book “:07 Seconds or Less”, pointed out the similarities between Love’s reaction the play and that of Diaw and Stoudemire reacting to Nash getting laid out into the scoreboard, it drew some not-so-subtle emoji use by Nash.

Though the Suns of a decade ago would beg to differ about that common sense thing.

— Jack McCallum (@McCallum12) June 1, 2018

🤔🧐 https://t.co/dvrDl2aSqU

— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) June 1, 2018

pic.twitter.com/WCRqNx8sDs

— Alex Smolokoff (@ASmolokoff) June 1, 2018

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