DaRizzle - I admire your cajones and willingness to mix it up! I think where you are wrong here is that Ariza swooped in with a haymaker, a roundhouse. That makes it look like, to us, that he wasn't just trying to get the ball. Fouls look like fouls, a sidewinder is different.
No, not that much. Moving "forward" isn't "around." Wrapping one's wrist around another person's is a pretty extreme wrist rotation. I think Ariza did it intentionally, to pull Rudy away from the hoop, ensure that it would be a hard foul with no basket.
Im not at all arguing Ariza bopped Rudy in the head significantly, thats obvious. Im just arguing the part where people are saying Ariza purposely grabbed/hooked around Rudys wrist to bring him down harder.
Alright, well at least we boiled it down so we each understand each other. I obviously disagree with your assessment but thank you for being level headed on it. I still think you are giving Ariza too much credit to pull that off in a split second
what is to stop a team from having a 15th man who will just run onto the court and punch someone in the face? so they get suspended, big fucking deal. you could hire some 7 foot badass and pay him a million dollars to sit on the bench and wait for his chance. he gets suspended, you get someone else to take his place.
to claim to know what a guys intent was is ridiculous. You can claim to know what his actions were though. STOMP
All of you arguing Ariza's intentions need to go and read the rulebook. It's not a factor. It's not even mentioned. The criterion for a flagrant 2 is "unnecessary and excessive contact". It's the act that's punished, not the intent. And that's the way it should be. How can a referee or league official possibly determine intent? They can't read minds, and no player, knowing he's facing a suspension, is going to admit he was trying to hurt another player. So, regardless of intent, Ariza's actions were "unecessary and excessive". They were also reckless and put another player, in a very vulnerable position, at risk of serious injury. Punish the action, not the intent. Send a message that taking down a player, who has left his feet, from behind with a blow to the head, is NEVER allowed. Unfortunately, the NBA botched this big time by not suspending Ariza for a game for his dangerous actions. BNM
Some local sports talkshow host down here in L.A. was just talking about the game. His comments can be expected. Instead of giving the Blazers credit he instead chooses to say how Portland is one of those places that's not even on his list of places to visit. "What's there to do other than go to Blazer games." Then he admits he's never even been there. As for the Rudy incident, there comments went something like this. "Well it was just a hard play by Ariza, it was the fall that made it so much worse than it was. Stu (Laker color guy) made a great point in last night's telecast that Rudy went off of one leg which which makes it very hard to maintain your balance in mid-air. And I mean, you gotta give Ariza props, not many guys could make that play to begin with and get back like that. He's very athletic." - End scene. Yes, that's right. They basically insinuated that Rudy should leap off of both feet, otherwise he opens himself up to that kind of fall. Just another example of the overwhelming arrogance and ignorance that perpetuates the Los Angeles area. The worst losers in the world. Whenever they don't get their way they resort to insulting those who beat them, like spoiled little brats. It's really an experience to witness first-hand on a daily basis. You can only imagine the callers. Pray for me.
Phil Jackson said the same types of things about Sacramento when the Kings and Lakers played in the playoffs in 2002.
It's my greatest hope that every single Los Angeleno feels exactly the same way. Long live Tom McCall!
The difference is no current Portland player would do such a thing, so your point is moot. At the very least, they have no history of such behavior. The same cannot be said for the Lakers. Hell, Kobe crippled his own team mate (Bynum) to keep the spotlight on himself. I will always believe this is true because the thought of it makes me smile inside.
I nominate Chuck Liddell for that role. Portland pays him 3 million to sit at the end of the bench and glare at the other team. Before every game he goes to every player for the opposing team and lets them know what he will do to them if they hurt a Blazer player. That way no other player has to risk suspension and the other teams player gets the beating of his miserable life. It's a win/win.
