Kobe bryant is a god.

[Guest Ripper]

Am I the only one that watched him throw a punch at Scottie Pippin last night when they got tied up on the floor?  I KNOW the announcers had to see it because they did a super slow mo showing when Pippin held his leg and you just watched him throw the punch.  

 

See, to mortal players, throwing a punch is automatic suspension, but I get the feeling that the NBA's lord and saviour Kobe will get away with nothing.  Unless of course they suspend Scottie Pippin for getting swung at(see Miller, Reggie)

 

I love the NBA but I hate the special treatment SOME superstars get.

[Guest DrTom]

I don't much care for the NBA, one of the reasons being the special treatment a lot of its superstars get.  Years ago, though, they decided to kill team basketball and market themselves on individual players.  Bird, Magic, and Jordan were the first to carry the league, and Kobe is just the latest.  It sucks, but this is the way David Stern decided he wanted to run the show years ago.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

That stuff aggravates me. I hate seeing Allen Iverson throwing fits and not getting technicals, and I just hate the way the league treats their "superstars" in general. It seems like the commentators ignore stuff and are told to play up certain things. LAst year during the Finals, they gushed over the 76ers and I remember seeing a highlight package where they showed  bunch of mediocre plays made by the 76ers, while completely ignoring Shaq giving facials to Mutumbo and anyone else they put on him. I'm no Lakers fan, but I hate having a team shoved down my throat so blatantly.

 

ago, though, they decided to kill team basketball and market themselves on individual players.

 

The formula wouldn't be so bad if the players were able to be superstars without having the league brand them as such. Anyone remember all of the hoopla surrounding Grant Hill?

[Guest What?!]

The worst Superstar Treatment was Knicks against Pistons a few years ago where Patrick Ewing shot the game winning shot using *4* steps! Everyone knew it was travelling. And they still counted it. Of course, Ewing then told Doug Collins that he's been an All-Star and a veteran so he deserved the non-call.  

[Guest The Electrifyer]

Thats so stupid. I can understand MAYBE if it is during the middle of a game when the Knicks are dominating, but when its the last moments, no ref should make stupid calls or lack of them in this case case. Another example is the Western Conference finals in 2000 in game 7 of the Blazers/Lakers game. Fouls were commited by LA left and right during the final minutes yet no call, and they still keep on saying how big of a comeback LA put on in the 4th quarter of that game.

 

I hate crap like this. The NBA has instant replays, why don't the refs use it!!!???

[Guest El Hijo Del Lunatic]

There are some posts that make my head hurt.  THIS is one of them.  I am relatively sick of people whining and bitching about officiating.  If there's a player that you don't like, and he gets away with something, waah waah.  If there's a player that you do like, and he doesn't get away with something, waah waah.  God, get over it.  It's not a big deal.  Stars get preferential treatment, but every playoff team has stars.

 

... Scottie Pippen also physically restrained Robert Horry as he was trying to get back into play, leaving the Blazers with a 5-4 advantage for about half a possession.  He's an ANGEL.

 

Look, it's playoff basketball.  When two guys are rolling around on the ground fighting - over a basketball or whatever - you can't T up one without hitting the other one with a T too.  It's a double technical, or it's nothing.  The refs chose nothing.  If you want a double technical in that situation, fine.

 

PS - Iverson whines, but the refs know he gets his ass kicked every time he goes in for a shot, so they give him slack.  

 

PPS - If Grant Hill could stay on the court, he'd be getting 18 and 7 a game at least.

 

PPPS - You can't add an instant replay to a game that relies on constant motion, like basketball.  Hockey's instant replay is very limited, I believe, and some people still can't stand it.  Also, the officiating is so subjective in the NBA they might not "get it right" anyway.

 

LUNATIC

Let's all stop whining now, k?

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I'm assuming the guy who started this thread was taking issue with the commentators saying nothing about Kobe's punch while acting like Pippen stabbed Kobe. I don't think he was talking about officiating. Even though I mentioned Iverson and how he doesn't get technicals like I think he should, the main point of contention for me was the fact that the league acted like they favored the 76ers in the Finals (commentators talking about how much heart they had and showing all of the 76ers replays as if Lakers highlights were non-existent) and how they treat the handpicked superstars.

[Guest El Hijo Del Lunatic]

I'm assuming the guy who started this thread was taking issue with the commentators saying nothing about Kobe's punch while acting like Pippen stabbed Kobe. I don't think he was talking about officiating.

Yeah, except ...

 

See, to mortal players, throwing a punch is automatic suspension, but I get the feeling that the NBA's lord and saviour Kobe will get away with nothing.  Unless of course they suspend Scottie Pippin for getting swung at(see Miller, Reggie)

... sounds like he's talking about Kobe getting T'd up, thrown out, suspended, or something.  Besides, it's Ripper, and he's done this before.

 

Even though I mentioned Iverson and how he doesn't get technicals like I think he should, the main point of contention for me was the fact that the league acted like they favored the 76ers in the Finals (commentators talking about how much heart they had and showing all of the 76ers replays as if Lakers highlights were non-existent) and how they treat the handpicked superstars.

Oh, I agree.  I just wanted to throw that Iverson thing out there because while I agree that he throws a few tantrums out there, he takes a MAN-SIZED (tm the Internet Wrestling Community) beating every game.  You gotta expect him to get in the ref's ear every now and again because of all the physical contact he endures.  But, like I said, I agree with you on the Sixers-as-plucky-underdogs thing last year.

 

LUNATIC

When you fuckin' with the 'Tic, you ain't gon breathe

The only time I lick in the air is New Year's Eve

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

Most of the time I see him bitching is when he misses a shot and doesn't get a call. Nine times out of 10, I don't see anything that would merit a foul. Other times, he looks for the referees to bail him out. One time that sticks in my mind was him in the Finals last year trying to draw a charge while Derek Fisher or whoever it was looked like he was going to beat him to a loose ball. That's not playing like a man. That's hoping the referees can bail you out because you got beat. I remember him also running down the court screaming during the Finals after a call or a no call didn't go his way. I would have given his ass a T, but he's Iverson and he can't be thrown out of the game unless he shoots someone because everyone knows the 76ers can't win a game unles Iverson gets his 36 shots a game. I think every team in the NBA has a player who could have an Iverson-like night (shoot 30% but shoot enough times to get points).

[Guest El Hijo Del Lunatic]

I didn't mean to give you the impression that I like Iverson or approve of nearly anything he does.  I think he's exceptionally overrated, and I do think at times he flips out.  But like I said, there are some times when he goes into the lane knowing he's going to get slaughtered, and he does it anyway.  He may get up and look to the ref if he doesn't get his call, but he goes in there in the first place.  That's just about the only part of his game that I like.  But he shoots WAAAY too much and at WAAAY too bad a percentage to the one of the top players in the NBA.  His stats are comparable to Stackhouse's, and no one ever ever everververver talks about Stackhouse at one of the best.

 

I think every team in the NBA has a player who could have an Iverson-like night (shoot 30% but shoot enough times to get points).

One team won six championships with one as a primary option.

 

LUNATIC

I'm so quotable and controversial.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

Jordan was hitting more than 30% of his shots and he won 6 championships so whatever he did, he was doing right. Iverson had the worst FG percentage in Finals HISTORY last year. That means nobody shot as poorly as he did last year in the history of the NBA Finals. Iverson hasn't won anything and probably never will.

[Guest El Hijo Del Lunatic]

Ok, you got me.  Jordan shot more than 30% from the field.  But (especially at the end of his second run) he shot less than 40%.

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

Maybe if the 76ers had a credible 2nd threat to score, Iverson wouldn't have to shoot as much.  Dikembe has feet for hands, Coleman has a good game or 2, then gets 8 points, Harpring is good for about 10-15 a game, and I cringe every time Snow takes a shot.  Aaron McKie is probably the only other one I feel comfortable with shooting the ball, but he's best coming off the bench.

[Guest Ripper]

"sounds like he's talking about Kobe getting T'd up, thrown out, suspended, or something."

 

 

The NBA uses replays in the suspending of players.  J.R. Reid got suspened 5 games for throwing a elbow at AC Green and it didn't even get calle don the floor.  Players are often suspended when the game is reviewed and see that players left the bench during a fight or if they see a punch that officials didn't see.  It happens all the time but didn't happen here.

 

My thing isn't as much with Kobe.  You remember last year when Dale Davis threw that elbow at Robert Horry??? The Announcers, the leauge and everyone was ranting on how it was so umprofessional, so wrong and how the Blazers lost composure.  Now compare this to how when Shaq goes at Brad Miller it is supposed to be accepted, when Iverson curses at the official every which way, it isn't a technical, and yes, how Kobe can throw a punch at Pippen on the floor and not get the mandatory 1 game suspension.  I hate special treatment for players on the court.  Call me crazy, but I would like to know who the best team on the court is.  The only way this can be determined is to have a level playing field.  Did Pippen take Bryant down...yeah.  Pippen is one of the sneakiest players in the league, but what he didn't do was throw a punch.  When I watched everyone on the Celtic team get tech's yesterday and Iverson not be kicked out the game in the first 15 minutes after all the bitching he does, I it disgusting to me.

 

"Besides, it's Ripper, and he's done this before."

 

Done what.  What are you talking about.