There was a great topic of conversation this morning on ESPN's Mike & Mike. They asked should Kobe suspended for his elbow to Artest throat? Their question was based upon two things 1) Dwight Howard's suspension for his elbow and 2) they had previously had NBA league rep Stu Jackson on their show and he said by the rules a deliberate elbow above the shoulders is cause for punishment whether that be ejection and/or suspension. They went to argue if Kobe's elbow was "deliberate" (which they felt it wasnt) and also discussed if the roles had been reversed and Artest had thrown the elbow would he be suspended. Its interesting to me because its a good example of not if but to what extent the league has different rule for their superstars. [video=youtube;irtnkEmubqY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irtnkEmubqY[/video] Here is a link to the Stu Jackson interview if interested: http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?context=podcast&id=4115708
He should be, but he won't. That was totally done on purpose, and done by someone who knows he (nor Fisher) won't get suspended.
Ok where does the elbow even land? That is a bad angle. I would tell everyone he hit me in the throat if it was in the vicinity.
Does it matter? Clearly the intent for the thrown elbow was an upward direction. There's on 2 things above the shoulder, your neck and your head. That was the best clip I could on short notice. I'm sure everyone who watched the game or saw highlights saw the different angles that pretty clearly show that he got him in the throat.
After one take that is what I said. You've seen the slow mo a bunch of times and said Artest didn't foul him with his arms to the face, which I think is a more egregious error.
Maybe so. I wont argue what I dont know for sure but I do know that I dont recall anyone during the game or during highlights that thinks it was anything other than an elbow to the throat. In the post game interview when Kobe was asked about it all he said was this is playoff basketball and it gets physical. He didnt deny it. Seems pretty clear to me.
Yes, but he won't. Just like Rondo, Stern can't afford to suspend him. Watch Artest get suspended though, lmao. And wow, that gif image shows it perfectly. Definitely an elbow, looked like he cocked it to hit him because Artest was draped all over him.
The gif shows Artest on his face, and a Kobe elbow. The Houston Rockets mod even said you can't tell where his elbow landed. I don't know why I should take Artest's word on such a dubious play.
It looks like the upper chest to me, not so much the throat. IDK, it does look deliberate, but crafty, I gotta give him that.... crafty motha fucka, just like when he had the stripper over He knows what he was doin' I actually like the physicality of it; I wish they'd let more shit like that go on w/o giving fouls and T's, and shit.....we'd be playing the lakers right now if Oden could have been that physical.
And? Go to the Houston Forum, I said he should have gotten a technical for that one. Nice try though.
This clip is entirely different and should have resulted in some sort of discipline. This wasn't even during any action related basketball. This was stoppage of the ball shenanigans and cheap shots.
Looked pretty intentional to me... Very well disguised and had to call in real time. While I fully agree that superstars get calls, it looks like one of those situations where the refs might have missed it.
Fine, yes, suspension, no. Artest was crawling all over him and he was clearing space. I hate Kobe, but I think a suspension for that is too much.
Looked deliberate to me. If it was Artest, he would have been ejected and would be suspended. Kobe knew damn well what he was doing in the clip with Battier. Another deliberate cheap shot.
