I've noticed. It was a hard foul but there was no intent to injure and really shouldn't be talked about so much. Rudy is okay, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief, and move on. Fouls like this happened a lot back in the Old NBA. If Rudy had been seriously hurt, I'd be singing a much different tune.
Classy. Ariza knew what he was doing swinging his arm like that across the body. I wonder what am I going to hit first - his head or the ball? Two can play that game... I support Kobe's foul on Bynum.
Here's why I will disagree. I am not opposed to hard fouls. I'm not opposed to grabbing players preventing a dunk or layup. But when a player is in the air, there are certain things that are off limits- low bridging, sweeping and head hunting. Ariza did both the later. It was an unforgivably cheap shot with intent. Those are the types of plays that demand a 10-15 game suspension as that's when players are most vulnerable.
Where is the intent? It looked like he was going for the ball. Ariza apologized for the foul and wished Rudy to be okay but he said he never had intent to injure. Only making a play on the ball. Sometimes lacks of judgement happen when adrenaline is pumping and instinct takes over. I just think people should let it go.
My brother is a huge Laker fan and sincerely got upset when I said it was a cheap shot. "He's not a dirty player!!" He cried. I then pointed out that it was his team who sent players to the hospital this year - Rudy and Gerald Wallace. He was very upset!
Where?? He didn't foul him, he sidewinded him! Look at Aeiza's huge swipe of the arm. They called it a flagrant 2 - obviously even the refs saw the intent. I bet Stern will too. You guts take the cake.
Who have the Lakers injured this year? Bynum injured Oden right? unintentional obviously, but ill mention it still.. Bynum injured Gerald Wallace.. questionable move by Bynum here. Ariza injures Rudy Fernandez, lousy cheap shot. Bynum is out with a knee injury... Is Ariza next?
It was a play on the ball. Not intention to harm, which is the interpretation of the rule. The league will more than likely change it from a flagrant 2 to a flagrant 1.
At first i did not think it was a dirty play. But after a lot of thought on it I think the NBA has to come down on this type of play. Give Ariza a warning and tell the rest of the NBA if it happens again you face serious suspension. Here is why. What if it was Kobe going in for a layup at the end of the third quarter of a 30 point blowout and someone like Bayless (with a full head of steam) took a full swing/swipe and accidentally hit Kobe in the head and because of the speed at which it happened sent Kobe down wrong and he broke his neck, ending his season and career. What if it happened to Roy? Don't think it was that far off from happening. My point here is not the actual hit,(as it happens all game long) but the circumstance of the fast break. There are rules set up to try to curtail this, and a play like what Ariza did, should be taken seriously. Intent has nothing to do with it. Whether Rudy is hurt should have nothing to do with it. The full swing and impact on a player going that fast and defenseless, has everything to do with it IMO. They can't wait until someone gets seriously hurt. I wouldn't even wish that on kobe.
I don't think it was an intentional foul, but it was a cheap foul that was uncalled for. I don't think it's as bad as most of us thought when it happened though.
The difference is in the old NBA, Ariza would have been punched by the likes of Mo Lucas and would have lost a couple of teeth. The reason hard fouls are a pussy tactic now is the NBA doesn't allow for on-court retribution. I say bring back the designated goon to the NBA.
There's intent in that Rudy was going for a two handed dunk and Ariza swept his arms hard and guaranteeing he was going down hard. That's i-n-t-e-n-t. Ariza can say whatever he wants to minmize his suspension, but it was intentional and Rudy was going to go down. Of that, there is no question. There are different ways to go for the ball, but Ariza chose to drop Rudy from behind. Cheap cheap cheap.
It wasn't just the swipe, but the hold of the arm after the swipe when Rudy was defenseless. It absolutely ensured that Rudy would land hard with no ability to break his fall. Rudy doesn't even see the blow coming. It was reckless -- and in a 30 point blowout. I don't care if Ariza actually intended to harm Rudy, it was dirty.
exactly. It was a very dangerous play because of how he wound up from behind on an exposed player. The league put in the breakaway/clear path to the basket rules to deter that sort of stuff. To make a legal play on the ball, Ariza should have been using his left hand as contact was almost assured using his right. To do this sort of crap when you're down 30 is classless... I'm sure Ariza will face a suspension. STOMP
A lot of Different NBA Fans voted on that poll. Including Raptor fans (like myself) and Nets fans. 13-2 for no
It was not a clean foul at all. You can "go for the ball" without cocking your arm back and swinging wildly. He was trying to foul him hard. And the fact that Ariza tried to be a tough guy after he did that when Rudy was laying on the ground immobile tells you all you need to know about that piece of shit. -Pop
Look at Ariza's face in this shot as the foul is happening. Does that look like the face of a guy who is making a legitimate attempt at the ball? He sure as shit looks to me like someone who is taking a malicious swipe at a player who is in the process of delivering a beatdown to your soft team. -Pop
