The fine amount is astounding because it is the highest fine ever levied on an NBA coach.

On Sunday, Van Gundy said:

"When you review [Yao Ming's] fouls, you look there and you got to give [Dallas owner] Mark Cuban credit. He's been calling and calling about Yao. You got to give the guy credit, he's taken a lot of fines in his time, and he's been on them hard. And he's gotten the benefit."

"Before Game 3, I got a call from another official in the NBA who's not in the playoffs that I've known forever, and he told me they were looking at Yao harder because of [Cuban's] complaints. It proved prophetic, really, the last couple games. I didn't think that really worked in the NBA, but in this case it has."

Van Gundy wasn't through, saying the league has targeted Yao all season.

"I think Yao all year has had a target on his back for whatever reason," added the Rockets coach. "I don't know what the reason would be, whether it's his size, his kindness, whatever. There's many other things it could be, too. But you look at the foul calls he gets, and they're not appropriate."

It remains to be seen what we will see on the court as a result, but the move was exactly what I believed that someone on the team needed to do after Mark Cuban's whiny threat on Saturday that basically translated to: "If we lose Game 4, I'm going to go postal".

While Stu Jackson denied that Yao Ming or any player was a target, the over-the-top fine said it all -- the NBA won't touch this subject because what Van Gundy said was so damning. Furthermore, Van Gundy's addition of "there's many other things it could be" as to why Yao has become a target is just vague enough to potentially hurt the NBA's relationship with Yao's Chinese fan base.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban has already made it clear that the Mavericks organization complained and lobbied to the league to look harder at Yao, so this was a bit of an eyesore for David Stern and Co.