First the league took the leather out of the ball.

Now, it seems, it’s taking the heart out of the game.

Maybe not the heart, exactly, but with new standards that encourage officials to call technical fouls on players for almost every outburst of emotion, it’s apparent the league wants all the effort and energy from its players but won’t stand for any of the impulsive passion that comes with it. And those elements are kind of hard to separate.

“I don’t think it’s possible, but we don’t have an option,” Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. “We don’t have a choice.”

The first week of games have featured ejections of Carmelo Anthony and Rasheed Wallace in separate games. The Nuggets and Pistons eventually lost after expulsions to their best players that probably would not have occurred last season.

Players and coaches were warned before the season that there would be zero tolerance when it comes to complaining to referees. Heat coach Pat Riley said David Stern was adamant about his players no longer “looking like a bunch of crybabies out there.”

But there’s a line between excessive whining and natural emotional reactions. The problem the players are having is recognizing that line. Or is it the officials who are having trouble recognizing the line?

In Thursday’s Nuggets-Clippers game, Anthony was ejected for tossing his headband to the floor on his way to the bench – a move that didn’t seem to be directed at an official.

And the sensitivity of the officials seems to have permeated to other areas of the game. Also on Thursday, Francisco Elson of the Spurs screamed as he dunked. He turned around and completed his scream when he happened to land in front of Erick Dampier. Elson was whistled for a taunting technical.

“What is the line?” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. “You can’t talk to anybody anymore or you can’t show emotion? That’s going to be the biggest thing. It’s scary, because with anything you’re going to react. If I have a bottle of Gatorade right here and I knock it over, I’m going to react.

“It’s not something new like the dress code where you can make a couple calls and get some suits made. It’s going to be a big difference this year.”

During the coaches meetings before the season, Riley said coaches asked about historically emotional players and whether they would get any leeway. They were told no, which made Riley warn Alonzo Mourning to “control” his emotions.

And Wade said talking to officials early on in games wouldn’t help later in games.

“Nope,” Wade said. “They’re not having it.”

Unlike most official points of emphasis, Riley doesn’t expect this one to fade as the season continues.

“It’s going to get worse,” Riley said. “I think they’re going to stick by this. They don’t like it. Players have been warned.”

Perhaps the loudest warning was the ejection of Wallace on Detroit’s opening night. The new standard was dubbed the “Rasheed Wallace rule” when it was announced because of the Pistons forward’s history of badgering officials. Last week, Wallace was ejected for, compared to his previous outbursts, relatively harmless reactions.