Latest NBA suspension enrages Mavericks fans amid annoying double standard

Suspensions and fights are always bound to catch headlines in the NBA, and that was no different on Saturday night when New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams exchanged a few punches during a scuffle.

Not only did both players connect on punches thrown, but on Sunday, the NBA released the full slate of punishments for the two players, which included a two-game suspension for Alvarado and one for Williams; however, the Dallas Mavericks got caught in the crossfire.

During the first few games of last year's regular season, the Mavericks were playing the Suns when Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington got into a scuffle with former Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic. While punches were thrown and players were tossed to the ground, the NBA threw the hammer down on Marshall by giving him a four-game suspension.

Marshall suspension still angers Mavs fans after Alvarado-Williams tussle

There's no doubt that a suspension was warranted in both fights, but Mavericks fans are up in arms over the lack of punishment for two players who connected on punches, while Marshall received a four-game ban that even seemed over-dramatic at the time.

There are several reasons why last season ended in disaster for the Mavericks, and the Luka Doncic trade can headline it, but missing Marshall to a four-game suspension and Washington to one definitely had a hand in Dallas' slow start last season.

Every team needs a player who will deliver a message when the team needs it, and Marshall has invoked what it means to be an enforcer since joining the Mavericks. Although fights are rare, Marshall and Nurkic's fight last season caught a lot of eyes and ended with both players receiving a multi-game suspension; however, just one year later, punishments for fights appear to have calmed down.

Not only was Alvarado and Williams' fight more violent, with multiple punches being thrown and connecting, but the punishment for those fights appeared to be as light as possible, with only a two-game and one-game suspension being thrown out. To make matters even worse, many fans point to the moment that Marshall was suspended as one of the reasons' Dallas' season fell apart.

It's unclear what the Mavericks would have looked like in the opening games after Doncic's Christmas Day injury, but with Marshall and Washington not being suspended, the Mavericks likely wouldn't have fallen into a multi-game hole. This, of course, not only forced Nico Harrison to trade Doncic but also forced the team to shape its future around a new core.

In the fallout of last season, the Mavericks are currently a shell of their former selves with a superstar in the making and a future to focus on. There has been plenty of trade with the Mavericks' struggles continuing, and the Atlanta Hawks have emerged as a possible suitor for Anthony Davis.

Not only do the Hawks have multiple young players who could be an intriguing headliner in return for someone like Davis, but the Mavericks could also be in store for a reunion with Kristaps Porzingis.

It may be frustrating for fans to see the NBA lay the hammer down on a player like Marshall and not have that same level of punishment for others, but it's important for fans to focus on the future, with plenty of trade buzz emerging.