Shaquille O'Neal's incident with Chicago's Brad Miller on Saturday did earn him a three-game suspension and a heavy fine, and it should have. But at the same time, it also demonstrates how difficult his situation is. He is in a Catch-22: While defenders have to foul him to keep him from scoring, he takes a lot of punishment.

People comment that Shaq gets away with things in the basket area, that he commits offensive fouls, that he utilizes his strength and size to get advantages and that the officials allow him to do it. But Shaq endures hits each game that are not beneficial to him.

One could understand his irritation. Players are not trying to block his shot; they are trying to foul him hard. Meanwhile, if the defender doesn't foul Shaq hard, Shaq doesn't even realize he has been fouled and will go right to the basket anyway. To stop him from scoring in the basket area, a defender -- or sometimes two or three -- has to find a way to foul him hard enough so he can't shoot, but not so hard that it would be excessive.

As a career 53-percent free-throw shooter, he invites fouls, especially since he plays so close to the basket. If he shot better from the foul line, his problem would dissipate. Otherwise, he can expect the same treatment from night to night.

Until now Shaq has been surprisingly well-disciplined over his career. Saturday's punch-throwing incident was really the first time he has really taken any overt action.

Wilt Chamberlain was kind of like Shaq; he was not a fighter. Defenders would jump on him or grab him around both arms to try and keep him from getting a shot off. The only time I ever saw Wilt retaliate was when he went after Bob Ferry once, but he was not close to hitting him because Ferry was retreating rapidly.

I didn't think Miller's foul was flagrant. In fact, I also don't recall any other time when someone committed a flagrant foul against Shaq. Shaq probably just had enough.

Who knows what would have happened if Shaq had connected with his first roundhouse punch. Much of it depends on the position of the person receiving the blow. When Kermit Washington hit Rudy Tomjanovich, Rudy T was moving forward -- almost on the run -- to act as a peacemaker. I'm not sure Kermit even realized it, except he saw this form flying at him. He took a swing, and the result was disastrous. Miller, though, was moving away from Shaq. Even if he had landed the punch, I don't think it would have done irreparable harm.

The NBA has done a good job taking action against fighting. David Stern is resolute in his position that the league will not tolerate punches being thrown. If someone does throw a punch, he will pay the penalty. As a result, there are fewer incidents than there used to be.

Shaq should not receive a harsher fine merely becaues he is larger and could do more damage than most NBA players. The league can not start differentiating between players. A thrown punch results in at least a one-game suspension and a fine -- and Shaq threw two punches.

The best fighter that I remember in the NBA was Calvin Murphy. Even though he was only 5-foot-9, he would land five punches by the time the other player got his hands up. He was dynamite. Short and quick, he knew how to use his hands. Nobody wanted to mess with Murphy. In NBA history, he is the pound-for-pound champion.

Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay is an NBA analyst for ESPN.