Ya, Stat has been pretty intense this series. Glad to se our guys brought it right back at 'em today!
I said it in the other "Amare Elbow" thread it's nasty, but this is playoff basketball, I don't want anybody suspended for hard-nosed, physical, and even borderline dirty play.
How is consistently going after a known injury in an intentional manner "borderline" dirty? It's all-out dirty, and Amare Stoudemire is a dirty player. It's Bush League. How is bumping Batum's elbow after a Flagrant foul FT hard-nosed or physical?
Sorry, but that is bush league and shows what a punk Amare is when he keeps goin after Nic's shoulder. Simpy an azzhole.
Amare didn't swing his elbow though. He walked with his elbows out, adjusting his goggles, and purposefully bumped into Nic with his elbow. So I doubt the NBA does anything to Amare. It'd be great if they suspend that dirty punk, though.
So fucking hit 'em back, hard foul the hell out of him when he goes into the paint, laugh when he does it so you show he's not getting in your head. Five years out of the playoffs has really blunted people's memories about what it's like to play in the post-season.
LA tried that, and got a tech for it. Batum tried it, and got a tech for it. Calling this move on a dead ball by Stoudemire "hard-nosed" seems like it may be stupid. It was a dirty play. Most objective observers would agree, except for people that seem to want to give PHX excuses. What the hell else do you want Nic to do? Punch Amare in the face and get suspended?
Message served. And it didn't cost them them the game ... in fact nutting up and hitting back (even if it means a tech or a flagrant 1) probably sparked the team in its intensity and focus. I'm not saying it was a clean move by Amare' but I'm dumbfounded at how some of you seem to think this was suspension worthy.
I never said it was suspension-worthy. I just see it as more than "borderling dirty", considering the ball wasn't even in play. Amare just happened to elbow Nic after the FT? Please.
Please what? Dirty play, nasty play, physical play it's all the same to me. I want playoff series where the players hate each other's guts and get into it with each other, where they chip at each other, get into each other's heads and play with a sneer. I'm just ecstatic that the Blazers seem to be displaying a bit of a nasty streak.
I like it as well. That doesn't mean I'll excuse obviously dirty plays on dead-ball situations, escpecially when Nic says it made his arm go numb.
I am saying the two cheap bullshit shots combined are worthy of a suspension. I have watched NBA basketball since I was 10, so for 25 years. The things that Amare is doing are not "playoff" basketball tough plays. They are complete and total bush league plays, after the whistle. That is complete bullshit. Hardnosed NBA playoff basketball occurs within the flow of the game, on the ball most of the time. If you are talking off the ball it should occur during a cut, rebounding, or fighting for position. What we are seeing from Amare is none of those, whereas Frye's play was an on the ball hard foul.
I think they just think it is suspension worthy because they thought his elbow attempt on LMA was suspension worthy, and then he didn't get suspended. Of course, I think they only think his elbow attempt was suspension worthy because KG's weak elbow got him suspended.
How about playoffs where bit players intentionally go after the knees of opposing stars, aiming for series- or career-ending injuries? You can probably generate a lot of delicious bad feelings that way. I'm not saying that that's what Amare was doing, but where do you draw the line between being "playoff nasty" and going outside ethical boundaries? Do you draw any such line, or is anything on the table and players should just "nut up" and take it?
Anything meant to end a career or or otherwise knock somebody out of the game should be out of bounds, but nothing in what Amare' did falls into that category ... Nic get a little dead-armed, but it didn't prevent him from playing. Maybe it's a fine line, but I haven't seen anything so far that I would consider suspension worthy -- tech or flagrant worthy for sure however.
Amare is a dirty douche-bag. Anyone who expects that Amare is going to be punished for any shenanigans during Game 4 is sorely mistaken. They were watching him after Game 3. The NBA is not going to do anything. This isn't the first time Portland was punished for responding after refs missed calls and allowed Phoenix to be dirty, and it certainly won't be the last. It's an uphill battle for the Blazers.
