Joe Mama said:
Don't be such a damn homer yourself though. Bryant is obviously throwing elbows purposely to clear room for himself. That's not your right as a player regardless of how tight the defense is. I agree with you that Bell is all over Bryant. I expect the referees are not going to let him play Kobe nearly as tightly tomorrow. Still, that doesn't mean it's acceptable for Kobe Bryant to elbow people in the face. He should be getting calls from the league.
Joe Mama
Honestly how many times has Kobe gotten Raja in the face in this series? I can only think of once. Raja has gotten the benefits of a lot of flops, but I only have seen one that really connected.
I disagree with clearing elbows not being part of the game. It's not a part I particularly like, but I also don't like the "defense" that players like Raja put out there. If you wanted to follow the NBA rules, Raja would foul out in less than a quarter, but he gets his leeway. If a guy is going to get leeway to play that way, then he's got to expect physical clearouts from the offensive player. Elbows are part of it.
I'd much rather see players actually defend guys and not circle their waist and pull and grab, and I'd much rather see no elbows getting tossed around to clear space. But if that's where a defender takes his game, then he better be ready.
I don't find this a homer take, just because it is Kobe in question. In a straight basketball sense, if there is physical play because of over-aggressive defense, I can not blame the offensive player for being more aggressive in retailiation. The only other player I can think of that guards people like Bell guards Kobe is Bowen, and I know how much you guys love him. Artest doesn't do that, but he is plain crazy anyway.
Let's put it this way...if Raja tried to guard LeBron the way he guards Kobe, he'd be fouled out before D'Antoni could get him to the bench, and ESPN would be calling for his head and a lifetime ban.