Kobe Suspended 1 Game for Elbow

[abomb]

Has Manu ever gone a single game without getting a bloody nose? Seriously.

 

[Mulli]

Has Manu ever gone a single game without getting a bloody nose? Seriously.

looks like he is crying in that picture

 

[boisesuns]

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Is there a treatment or Flopititis?

 

[AzStevenCal]

I can't believe how many people are coming to Kobe's defense. I'm by no means a Kobe hater but I absolutely believe he deserved at least a game suspension. Nobody swings their arm in this manner unless they're trying to hit somebody. You can make a case (a weak one, IMO) that what he was trying to do was no different than the typical Reggie Miller 3 point pose but it's much more a Karl Malone kind of move, to me.

For those of you that believe it's accidental, have you ever seen him make this motion when there wasn't a face to connect with? I haven't seen it and I've watched him play in several hundred games.

I think it was a cheap shot and I would have had a lot more respect for Kobe if he'd just acknowledged it. Manu's frequent flailing and flopping could drive anyone to violence but it would have been nice if Kobe had shown a pair instead of a cheap shot followed by a whiny denial. Pleading justifiably guilty would have been a smart move from a PR standpoint also as he will now have to live with the media comparing and contrasting his two biggest "I'm innocent" claims.

Steve

 

[arthurracoon]

lame suspension

didnt seem that bad to me

 

[arthurracoon]

For those of you that believe it's accidental, have you ever seen him make this motion when there wasn't a face to connect with? I haven't seen it and I've watched him play in several hundred games.

Ive seen other plays where he could be suspended, but not on that.

 

[boisesuns]

It looked intentional to me. Why swing your arm down that far?

 

[abomb]

KB's and the Lakers appeal was denied before the NBA Office closing at 5:00PM EST. No Kobe tonight.

 

[asudevil83]

well....had it been anyone other than Ginobli, then i'd have to say he was deserving of the suspension. but, because this was Ginobli who got whacked, then i'm calling shenanigans.

 

[82CardsGrad]

It looked intentional to me. Why swing your arm down that far?

Because he wanted to hit Ginobli in the face... I hate Ginobli, but if I were him, Kobe would not have gotten away with that move. I'd gone all Raja on his "premier" ass!

 

[krispydude]

when watching the game i didnt notice his arm swinging like that, but after watching the youtube video, you can clearly see it was intentional and not part of his shooting motion.

 

[elindholm]

Well it was clearly intentional, but it's much more of a "wrist" than an "elbow." I'm sure Ginobili sustained no lasting damage, particularly since he injures himself much worse than that several times a day by throwing his body into various people and other objects.

 

[Gaddabout]

I seriously doubt Kobe was using that moment to take a cheap shot at Manu because the possession was too important. I do believe Kobe was using his elbows to draw the foul, which is why he deserves a suspension. It wasn't a deliberate cheap shot, it was a dangerous way to try and draw the foul, and the NBA is telling Kobe he needs to use his bazillion other ways to draw fouls.

Seriously, a player of Kobe's caliber shouldn't have to resort to Bill Lame-beer tactics to get a call.

 

[boisesuns]

They were saying on PTI today that this suspension is so Stern can show that even stars aren't above the law.

 

[Gaddabout]

I'm sure Ginobili sustained no lasting damage, particularly since he injures himself much worse than that several times a day by throwing his body into various people and other objects.

He does have an Eddie "The Eagle" quality to him, doesn't he?

 

[devilfan02]

The more I watch the clip, the more it looks intentional. It seems he's flailing his arms to somewhat gain his balance and go after the ball. However, he clearly adds uneeded momentum when swinging his right arm at Ginobli. As I said before, the argument of whether it was intentional or not can go both ways but it's a pretty nasty cheap shot if your askin me. How hard he hits Ginobli is what is starting to change my mind

 

[Mainstreet]

He got the suspension because of his history as a cheap shot artist.

You win the prize.

Maybe the referees have seen enough of his tactics. Sometimes bad karma just accumulates. I still cannot understand why he was not suspended last year in the playoffs for throwing elbows. Also I'm sure Ginobili has accumulated enough bad karma to go around as well. No sympathy here for either player.

 

[devilfan02]

You win the prize.

Maybe the referees have seen enough of his tactics. Sometimes bad karma just accumulates. I still cannot understand why he was not suspended last year in the playoffs for throwing elbows. Also I'm sure Ginobili has accumulated enough bad karma to go around as well. No sympathy here for either player.

The only problem is that the refs didn't call him for a foul or technical on the play. It's about time the league sent him a message but the refs didn't do a thing about it. I attribute most of that to the fact that it was the last shot of the game and the refs probably didn't want the game to be decided on a Bryant elbow after his shot was already blocked.

He hit Ginobli damn hard and the more and more you watch the clip the more it looks intentional

 

[Zobaczcie suki]

linkee of elbow?

If people are siding with Kobe, maybe it is because Manu has left such a path of destruction that its about time that he caught some bad karma.

 

[boisesuns]

linkee of elbow?

If people are siding with Kobe, maybe it is because Manu has left such a path of destruction that its about time that he caught some bad karma.

Earlier in the thread

 

[Zobaczcie suki]

Earlier in the thread

Got it thanks.

I can't see any reason for the contact unless it was intentional. My take is that Kobe was pissed at Manu challenging and blocking his shot and took a swipe at him. There is no other reason for it. The natural follow thru on the jump shot is forward, but he swung his arm to the side and hit Manu.

 

[Scot1]

Pleading justifiably guilty would have been a smart move from a PR standpoint also as he will now have to live with the media comparing and contrasting his two biggest "I'm innocent" claims.

LOL--good point, AZSteve

Kobe could also be complaining that Ginobili committed the newly-identified "elbow-blocking foul" by getting in the way of legitimate elbow-flailing needed for balance.

 

[msdundee]

Kobe could also be complaining that Ginobili committed the newly-identified "elbow-blocking foul" by getting in the way of legitimate elbow-flailing needed for balance.

Kind of like during the playoffs when Barbosa's face got in his way?

From the late AP column:

<<<"It's just unintentional," Bryant added. "I felt horrible about it. It's just basketball, it happens."

Jackson disagreed, and offered the NBA's explanation on a conference call.

"Some of the determining factors were the fact that there was contact made with Ginobili above the shoulders and the fact that this particular action by Kobe was an unnatural basketball motion. Following a shot, he drove a stiff arm in a backward motion and struck Ginobili in the head," Jackson said. "We did not view this as an inadvertent action."

No foul was called on the play.

"This blow was so swift in real time that it's understandable why, in fact, an official would have missed the contact," Jackson said. "In our view, this was not an attempt to draw a foul."

 

[TJ]

I hate Kobe probably more than anybody!! Even I feel that that suspension was a bunch of crap. But if there is indeed a conspiracy against Kobe, I LOVE IT!!!

 

[msdundee]

It almost appears that some of the recent moves by the league were done more as deterrents than anything. The technicals for complaining about calls were flying left and right at the beginning of the season, some resulting in ejections. Refs have eased up considerably on those lately, but the point was made -- and it did result in much less of the constant whining.

A lot of players have been hurt by a lot of elbows, sometimes unintentional and sometimes intentional. No foul called on Kobe for that one but with this move the league's sending the message that they do review the game films carefully and if, in their judgment, the shot looks intentional there will be penalties. The amount of money the player loses in a no-pay suspension is minor compared to the team losing a key player even for one game. Who knows, it might make Mutumbo and some others think twice before swinging.

Remember too, after that Spurs-Knicks game the league called Bowen and warned him about some of his footwork underneath the jump shooters. The potential for accidental injury is high enough in this game without some of the moves you see again and again. I've always harbored a secret wish that somebody'd come down hard enough on his foot to break it, or one of the elbows thrown would hit something wrong and get smashed. I know, not nice........