This week in the NBA

[alfdogg 0]

Damn, DA does look like Carlton. How have I never noticed that before.

[Guest]

here's what I dont understand. In the stretch, Kobe routinely had 2 or 3 guys running after him. Did the other players suddenly forget how to set a pick? You can knock off a defender that way, if you're lucky, kobe can even curl around and get open, and that's gold. they just stand around instead while kobe shoots.

They do that all the time.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

do that all the time as in, they set screens for him down the stretch all the time or they stand around all the time?

[Guest]

They stand around down the stretch. They completely forget what they are supposed to do in the 4th quarter.

[Ripper 0]

The only thing that matters to me is that Davis was suspended 5 games, and that is simply bullshit.

You're kidding me right?

No not at all.

 

Seriously, there has to be some type of common sense taken into consideration. Automatic suspensions are always stupid to me. Stu Jackson is making way to much money to just throw out automatic suspensions. Each case should be looked at for what it is.

 

This situation and the Ron Artest are not even slightly comparable. Artest ran into the stand to fight because someone threw a cup at him. Antonio Davis went in the stands to do what any person of sound mind and decency would do. He did what is to be expected. He believed his wife and kids to be in danger, and any person that wouldn't do the same is a coward and a dispictable human being honestly. That is the first thing that should be considered.

 

Second point is the manner in which he handled it. If he went in swinging for the fences, sure, suspend him. But he went to difuse the situation and most importantly HE LEFT WHEN SECURITY GOT THERE. By dishing out this suspension and their stupid "NO REASON EVER TO GO IN THE STANDS" rule, the NBA is saying that if player sees his wife being assaulted and no security is there to remedy the situation, he should do nothing and watch. I don't belive that anyone can look at that and say it is slightly sane or a believable policy.

 

Never ever rules don't apply anywhere in the world. The law says you should never ever speed and if a officer attempts to pull you over, you do so immediately. But if you have a critically injured person bleeding in the back seat, the police aren't going to give you a ticket when you get to the hospital and arrest you for failing to pull over. Circumstances are taken into consideration.

 

Even in the realm of sports, and while this is not a great example, it does show that other sports have common sense that the NBA seems to not have sometimes. Michael Pittman was not fined or ejected from the game against the Redskins even though he violated a league rule about throwing a punch. Why? Because they took into consideration that someone spit in his face to cause it. The NFL basically sent a message that spitting in another players face is unexcusable, and that retaliation should be expected if you do so. The NBA on the other hand says watching your family be assaulted should be your role. MLB didn't suspend all the players that stomped the shit out of those drunkards that beat up on a old first base coach. If it were the NBA, they would have suspended every player that left to go and help the guy out instead of watching him get beaten until security made it over.

 

I don't understand how Davis going and making sure his family was safe until security got there is any different than Fred Jones going into the stands to get Ron Artest out of that mess he made.

 

How can you possibly make a guy give up 700,000 dollars in salary over a decision that ( and I don't think you can possibly argue otherwise) you make 100% of the time, no question. Running in a crowd of fans to fight a guy who threw a cup at you is not even remotely close to this situation. Thats just plain stupid.

 

And if nothing else, I want people to remember that a week after the Artest incident, some dumbass "fan" threw a quarter and hit allen Iverson in the face, no doubt trying to get him to rush the stands and get him suspended from the league. Stern and Jackson should consider what message these "no tolorance" rules towards players and I hope to god some sick asshole isn't going to be thinking "hey, if I go and shove Dwayne Wade's wife during a playoff game, he will probably come up to protect her and get suspended for the series and my team would win."

[The Czech Republic 0]

The MLB case is different, as the drunks came on the field, as opposed to the players going into the stands. They're fair game when they hit the field.

[Ripper 0]

The MLB case is different, as the drunks came on the field, as opposed to the players going into the stands. They're fair game when they hit the field.

Unless you are Jermaine O'neil who punched a guy that had just tackled either a assistant coach or Anthony Johnson in a suit...couldn't tell which one. Either way, it shows lack of discretion by the Commish. He suspended JO because him punching that guy was shown a million times, not because he actually deserved to be suspended.

 

AND NBA players aren't allowed to leave the bench during any altercation so still. If it had been a fan that ran on the court to attack someone, I wouldn't doubt that Stern would suspend the players that left the bench.

[Rendclaw 0]

While I might not agree with it, 5 games was the absolute minimum that he was going to get. Anything less would have made the league office look weak after what happened last year, even though the circumstances might have warranted a lesser suspension.

[Precious Roy 0]

"hey, if I go and shove Dwayne Wade's wife during a playoff game, he will probably come up to protect her and get suspended for the series and my team would win."

 

Hey, that's not a bad idea! Too bad the Knicks won't be in the playoffs

[bobobrazil1984 0]

And if nothing else, I want people to remember that a week after the Artest incident, some dumbass "fan" threw a quarter and hit allen Iverson in the face, no doubt trying to get him to rush the stands and get him suspended from the league.

 

Um, wasn't that in the 1st round of the playoffs... chucked by some guy up in one of the decks, which makes it impossible that the moron was trying to goad Iverson into rushing the stands. What was he gonna rush up two levels and up into the deck? or are you thinking of a different quarter incident with Iverson? i'm just saying is all.