Exactly. Asking them to pull off amazing feats that they just can't do, and then "judging" their abilities based on that seems silly to me.
LMA is about to see his pay-check elevate to Josh Smith level money with Luol Deng level production. Rudy apparently thinks he's been done wrong here in P-town with his limited role and has alluded to wanting a larger (starting) role somewhere else -- so I want to see these guys step up and prove it.
Maybe judging their execution as a go-to guys isn't totally fair, but we can certainly judge their hustle, fire and competitiveness.
I'd like to see Rudy step up and do anything. Game after game I see him do nothing but get a couple of quick fouls and then sit on the bench, and I'm starting to think that he's doing it on purpose. I wish I could get his paycheck for sitting on the bench for most of the game. The Blazer broadcasting crew always seems upset when he hits the bench, but why? He can't hit the fucking basket most of the times he shoots! Rudy hasn't been worth a damn since Sergio was traded, and I think it's high time that the Blazers kick him to some other team. The problem is, since he's shown himself to be practically worthless, who would want him? Sure, tonight, when it was way too late, he finally hit some threes. Way too little, way too late. Maybe he should just go back to Europe, apparently they love him over there.
Where were Roy and Oden sitting during the wins over LA and OKC? Where were they during game 1? The point is, the rest of the team can play better than they did in the last 2 games. They have proved that. If they play their best and get beat by a good Suns team, so be it.
Of course it's supposed to be physical, but throwing an elbow at someone's chin is NOT part of "physical" basketball. If that shot would have connected, LaMarcus would have been writhing on the floor, Stoudamire would have been ejected and the suspension would have been basically automatic. But we're supposed to excuse it because he missed by an inch? If LaMarcus had thrown that elbow at Stoudamire, I would have supported his suspension as well. The officiating in this game was weak...if LaMarcus hadn't have reacted violently enough to draw a technical, the elbow would have been ignored altogether. And apparently traveling is no longer called in the NBA, right? I recall a Phoenix player tap-dancing under the basket (I counted 6, possibly 7 steps) before shooting a basket that was scored with the ref standing about a foot away from him. I guess Stern must have sent out a memo.
I think he was just born a bit too late. Imagine him on the same team as Karl "The Elbow" Malone. That guy used to send players to the hospital, and he'd claim he was just "clearing out some room." Man, those were the days...for abusive douchbags. Fortunately, nowadays that'll buy you an ejection and a suspension. Stoudamire, Garnett and Malone should get together and go bowling.
I don't think Garnett got suspended because he swung and connected, it was because he swung. Seriously, you can't say that because he missed, it didn't happen...the whole point is that he purposely tried to clock another player in the face. It's unsportsmanlike conduct at the very least, and assault in a criminal sense. If he'd have connected, it'd be criminal battery (which is either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the laws where it occurred). This is why the NBA takes it very seriously. Of course, no player is going to file charges unless it's an extreme case, but they certainly could under the law.
Aldridge comments on the play: [video=youtube;ptBuqA3I0Fo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptBuqA3I0Fo[/video] Nic also has something to say about Stoudemire: http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonlive/2010/04/blazers-suns_game_3_nic_batum.html
