I'm going to play devil's advocate. Perhaps he didn't want him to get the easy bucket and didn't consider the physics of the situation. We've seen Howard bear hug guys to keep them from the easy lay-up. It could be he had this in mind, and didn't consider he would drive LMA forward further. okay, enough of that WHERE THE EJECTION AT?!
That's overstating it a bit. LA's own momentum was what drove him into the basket stanchion. From my perspective, Collison was running from the left side of the court to challenge Miller who was approaching the hoop from the right. He then changed directions when the ball was passed to Aldridge, and he hooked LA's right arm to prevent him from getting the shot up. These two were what caused Aldridge's body to turn, making a fall inevitable. Collison actually did Aldridge a favor by reaching around him with the left arm. Had he not, Aldridge would have gone up a lot higher, gone a bit more horizontal in the air, and would probably have fallen much more awkwardly. Collison somewhat stabilized his fall by ensuring they fell together.
A good Thunder forum? As late as midmorning Central time, last nights recap wasn't even up on Loud City. I usually go to the Daily Oklahoman site to trash talk, they have a fairly good community there... http://newsok.com/
That's what I was thinking as well. I don't think he had any thoughts or intent about delivering a "message" or anything. He just wanted to stop the fast break.
If Aldridge gets up and gets in his face and a minor scuffle breaks out(like when Ariza hit Rudy), he might have gotten the flagrant 2. At the point the crowd gets into it and mercifully starts booing. No one really got in each others face though.
While I agree that Collison wasn't trying to send a message or anything, you can't just tackle someone trying to stop a fast break. I think it was a stupid move on his part, and he showed total disregard for player safety. Its not like it was a one point game or anything, either...
Of course he wanted to stop the fast break. He fucking tackled LA to stop the fast break. Collison wanting to stop the fast break certainly doesn't condone his actions, though. I'm waiting for the NBA will put out a memo rescinding the Flagrant One, right after they put out a memo saying the refs missed three calls while Durant was shooting in the second half. Clay Bennett must have found David Stern's alleged kiddie porn stash, and is blackmailing him with it.
Again, the tackle was better than a spinning knockdown. Had he not grabbed LA, it probably wouldn't have been a flagrant (since he would have just hit him on the arm), but there probably would have been a greater likelihood of injury to Aldridge. You're right--it was an 8 point game with over 2 1/2 minutes left, and playoff seeding on the line. Not a critical juncture of the game or anything...
would you say the rules mention super stars should get more calls in the favor? Would you say this doesn't occur?
Agreed, and not to defend Collison, but he rolled so that Aldridge would actually land on him rather than directly on the floor. While he did a dangerous move, it looked to me like he was trying to mitigate the possible damage as much as possible.
Yes...commiting a foul that AT LEAST is going to be called a flagrant 1, giving him 2 shots and the ball, and igniting the crowd and opposing team- is CLEARLY better than letting Aldridge dunk it. Collison had no play on the ball, so mostly it was just stupid play on his part.
I get your point, I think, but it's not like Aldridge was going to crash to the floor and stanchion and injure himself if it weren't for Collison swooping in and saving his life. Collison caused the train wreck and could have caused a sever injury to our best remaining player, and you seem to be giving him credit for being the good samaritan who got the kids out of the van that stalled on the tracks.
