ejp626 Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 DRose has now missed over 25 games this year for FIVE separate injuries. What are the chances now that he will be able to play at full strength for the playoffs? As much as I love this Bulls team and the way they play, I will be surprised if they can pull it all together to get past the Heat or Celtics. Hope I'm wrong. Yeah, I think if DRose was healthy, this might be their year, though OKC is going to be a beast. But I can't see it -- it's like he turned into a china doll or something. The Bulls management had better forbid him from playing for the Olympic team, 'cause he needs to get himself back together over the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted April 19, 2012 Report Share Posted April 19, 2012 Think it will be difficult to beat OKC but Heat need to prove something so it could be an interesting final. On a more mundane level I dont see the Knicks beating the number two seed but hope they can make it interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted April 19, 2012 Report Share Posted April 19, 2012 Dwight Howard calls owner, demands that SVG gets fired. Rinse, cycle & repeat. Howard is now in LaBron territory in terms of destroying his image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Lakers take a come-from-behind 2OT win away from the Thunder, but not until after Ron Artest, er...sorry, Metta World Peace got himself ejected for a totally classless elbow to the ear of James Harden. World Peace? Maybe the Lakers should have kept Lamar Odom and dumped Artest/World Peace instead. Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceW Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Lakers take a come-from-behind 2OT win away from the Thunder, but not until after Ron Artest, er...sorry, Metta World Peace got himself ejected for a totally classless elbow to the ear of James Harden. World Peace? Maybe the Lakers should have kept Lamar Odom and dumped Artest/World Peace instead. Wow. Meta Weird Peace has again committed one of the most total assinine acts, throwing elbows, and this to the ear and upper head of a player. There is NO excuse, he wound up and let fly with intended force. It is supposed to be a Flagrant 2 and automatic 2 game suspension. His act was as bad as Kermit Washington's punch back in the day. Weird Peace deserves to miss the playoffs at least if not banned from the league. That kind of blow can kill a man or cause permanent brain damage or disablement. BruceW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 MWP deserves 5/6 games and $25k fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Watching the replay, Artest never actually looks where he's throwing the elbow...but there's no place for that vicious elbow motion on a basketball court. Like Durant said at the half, "that's not a basketball play." Ron's volatile, loses control, and loses touch with reality. I never wanted Artest on the Lakers, and hated that they didn't pay to keep Ariza. I hope Harden is OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceW Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Watching the replay, Artest never actually looks where he's throwing the elbow...but there's no place for that vicious elbow motion on a basketball court. Like Durant said at the half, "that's not a basketball play." Ron's volatile, loses control, and loses touch with reality. I never wanted Artest on the Lakers, and hated that they didn't pay to keep Ariza. I hope Harden is OK. I agree with you that Artest was poor choice for Lakers, and Ariza was a player Lakers should have invested more belief in. I think the Lakers wanted a more physical defensive player at the time. However, I have seen at least 15 replays of the blow and the physical action just before the blow. Artest felt a player on his left back side (replay shows this) and if you watch intently, you can see Artest take that quick pick (as if to see if someone was actually there) and then wound up with viciousness and let that high elbow fly). You know, in the old days, physicality was accepted though not to the degree that intention was to hurt. Bill Russell was not a star until he decked the guys that kept pushing him around. Abdul Jabbar likewise had to deck Kent Benson because of Benson's dirty play. Even Shaq knocked a guard "silly" that felt he could keep driving on him in the playoffs. Karl Malone had moves to demand respect. Lucas for Portland was annointed with the monniker of "The Enforcer" for his tactics in physicality. Many players have been "educated" to the rules of the playoffs but this one with MTW was after the play and could have killed Harden, and we still don't know if he is going to be alright for sure. At present, different teams are "educating" Blake Griffin to playoff basketball. However, they are going over the line on his education also. Players careers are at stake now. The respect for the physicality and the respect for a players career and possibly his life are two different things. Clean it up Commish. BruceW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Watching the replay, Artest never actually looks where he's throwing the elbow He bumped into the guy first, sure seems to me he knew he was there, and after the impact he didn't even react. He knew exactly what he was doing IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 MWP knew Harden was there No doubt about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm a long time Laker fan, but World Peace deserves whatever suspension and fine he gets. The man is a complete wack job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 They're speculating a 5-10 game suspension on Sportscenter. If he misses the entire postseason, I'm hoping he's played his last game as a Laker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm a long time Laker fan, but World Peace deserves whatever suspension and fine he gets. The man is a complete wack job. He has had a screw loose for a loooong time. Not a super huge Bulls fan, but I can report back that most fans were glad to see the end of him here -- and this was magnified a hundredfold when the Pacers-Pistons melee went down. (No longer our problem, etc.) Still don't know who thought it was a swell idea to give him some sportsman or humanitarian award a few years ago. It would be nice if that NBA exec. was cashiered as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 (edited) Watching the replay, Artest never actually looks where he's throwing the elbow...but there's no place for that vicious elbow motion on a basketball court. Like Durant said at the half, "that's not a basketball play." Ron's volatile, loses control, and loses touch with reality. I never wanted Artest on the Lakers, and hated that they didn't pay to keep Ariza. I hope Harden is OK. I agree. Ariza would have been a great guy to hang on to. What bothers me is Artest/World Peace didn't even bother to look back to see who he hit...like he didn't feel that hit? The Lakers need to dump him and soon. Edited April 23, 2012 by GoodSpeak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 They're speculating a 5-10 game suspension on Sportscenter. If he misses the entire postseason, I'm hoping he's played his last game as a Laker. Back atcha, Jon. He's just another Dennis Rodman or Danny Ainge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm all for understanding mental eccentricities and encouraging their understanding by all involved, but just as much in favor of protecting people from unnecessary and preventable danger and/or injury. So it's in that spirit that I gotta ask, "WTF was THAT bullshit?" I wish him well on his apparently ongoing journey toward sanity, but...that's enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 (edited) Artest is not just a repeat offender, he's a serial offender. This will be the 13th time he's been suspended for conduct (and bear with me here) unbecoming of an NBA player. We all know David Stern will do anything in his power to keep things afloat in L.A. but if he doesn't drop the biggest shoe on Artest that's ever been dropped, then he's not doing his job. I would say at a minimum, the longer of 10 games or however long James Harden is out of the Oklahoma lineup. Oh and a hefty fine. The guy is a thug. Best line I've heard so far. Artest should change his name to Meta World War. Edited April 24, 2012 by Dave James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Here's my "best case scenario explanation." Not an excuse, but... What I was imagining is that Artest didn't think the elbow would connect, you know sort of like a "get off me" motion intended to come close but not connect. He was (stupidly) counting on Harden to be paying attention and get out of the way. When it did connect with Harden's head he thought best to act as if he didn't notice. Maybe that's too far-fetched and the crazed animal had every intent of assaulting Harden. Either way, he's hurt the Lakers' already slim chances in the playoffs and I feel the same disappointment as Magic Johnson expressed at the half. I hate when any player gets hurt and I dislike players who play basketball with the intent to injure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceW Posted April 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Nice try but NO WAY!!! Artest is a ticking time bomb. BruceW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 MWP deserves 5/6 games and $25k fine Damn I am gonna take Stern's job when he retires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JETman Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Not sure -- was Artest one of the last products of the Carnesecca era at SJ's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Nope LC's last year coaching was 1992 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Congratulations to David Stern and the NBA for totally blowing an opportunity to draw a line in the sand when it comes to boorish dangerous behavior on the part of its players. This is a league that doesn't hesitate to drop five figure fines for using bad language or six figures for questioning the competency of its referees and they give MWP seven games (one of which is a meaningless, end of the season outing against Sacramento) for doing something that could potentially have ended another player's career? That is beyond lame and just serves to clarify how screwed up this league really is. Stern and his co-conspirators should be ashamed of themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) Considering Artest's history, I'm shocked the suspension wasn't longer. My guess is they saw some validity to Artest's claim that he didn't mean to hit anyone with the elbow. Why else be lenient? I suppose there could be ratings to consider, if the Lakers and Thunder were to meet in a later round it would really spice things up. Are Stern and company that nefarious? That said, if this somehow serves to shorten the tenure of David Stern it can be seen in a positive light. Edited April 25, 2012 by Noj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceW Posted April 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Congratulations to David Stern and the NBA for totally blowing an opportunity to draw a line in the sand when it comes to boorish dangerous behavior on the part of its players. This is a league that doesn't hesitate to drop five figure fines for using bad language or six figures for questioning the competency of its referees and they give MWP seven games (one of which is a meaningless, end of the season outing against Sacramento) for doing something that could potentially have ended another player's career? That is beyond lame and just serves to clarify how screwed up this league really is. Stern and his co-conspirators should be ashamed of themselves. I agree. If you disagree with a call with a ref and he T's you up and the same thing happens 16 time, you then get suspended for one game and for every T after that initial 16. So you could get suspended for 7 games just for disagreeing with refs over a season. But if you damn near kill a player you get 7 games does not make sense. A lost opportunity to demand civility in a finese sport. Skip Bayless on First Take on ESPN had the gall to say that Harden instigated the action of Artest. What a screwed up way of thinking given the participants. Ask Stephen A. Smith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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