For that kick to the groin? Or the attempt since he didnt seem to connect on it...
Will Raja Get Suspended?
- Thread starter Gee!
- Start date
MaoTosiFanClub
The problem
Getting a reputation as a thug will not help you get calls which he will need with his physical style of defense.
OP
OP
Ya, Ive noticed that too.. He seems to have a short fuse lately..
krispydude
\_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_
evans didnt get suspended for grabbing kaveman's package if i remember correctly. i think just fined.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2003
- Posts
- 114,718
- Reaction score
- 54,581
I agree. However, Raja brings a physical and mental toughness to this team. IMO, other teams no longer look at Phoenix as a soft team. Stoudemire brings the same toughness as Raja but he stays more under control. I hope Raja continues to bring the same fire but keeps it more under control. Nash, Raja and Stoudemire brings some grit to the Suns.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2003
- Posts
- 114,718
- Reaction score
- 54,581
Raja's 3-point shot has been off this season without looking at the stats. However, I don't think his defense has "sucked." I think every player knows Raja will be a tiresome and physical defender. I would think playing against Raja all game would wear down the offensive opponent. This is not saying Raja is a shutdown defender, but he certainly is a physical defender which can play with an opponent's mind. He is also great at taking the charge.
MaoTosiFanClub
The problem
Let's call a spade a spade here - he's great at flopping.
Half truth. He might be good at flopping, but he also gives his body up more than any other player in the NBA.
Case in point was tonight when he took the big charge from Bargnani.
devilfan02
Registered
He's most definitely a "flopper." Does he endanger other players by doing so (ala Ginobli), absolutely not. More times then not he has his feet set and takes textbook charges. Ginobli, on the other hand, goes flying into nearby players before he has even been touched
slinslin
Welcome to Amareca
I dont think he is a flopper. A flopper is someone who makes a foul out of nothing. What Bell does is exaggerate contact, to draw the attention on every foul.
I wish Raja would stop shooting so much and talking so much and get back to concentrate only on defense.
I wish Raja would stop shooting so much and talking so much and get back to concentrate only on defense.
Arizona's Finest
Your My Favorite Mistake
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2005
- Posts
- 9,709
- Reaction score
- 1
I don't understand all the hate on Raja...He has brought an element of toughness and bad ass to this team that it has never had. As for him being a flopper - well we hate Ginobili for it but you know San Antonio fans love having him on their side.
I will give Raja the benefit of the doubt until his temper starts costing us playoff games. It came close last year but i also think the team rallied around his absence.
Much like a coach getting thrown out of a game to wake up a slumbering team, Raja keeps the rest of the team on edge, and like his tactics or not, he gives us a little f--- you towards the opposition. I couldn't have forseen his addition going any better. He is ten times what i thought he would be and will be a key role player in any future big time success we have....
I will give Raja the benefit of the doubt until his temper starts costing us playoff games. It came close last year but i also think the team rallied around his absence.
Much like a coach getting thrown out of a game to wake up a slumbering team, Raja keeps the rest of the team on edge, and like his tactics or not, he gives us a little f--- you towards the opposition. I couldn't have forseen his addition going any better. He is ten times what i thought he would be and will be a key role player in any future big time success we have....
hawaiiansun
Registered
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2006
- Posts
- 253
- Reaction score
- 0
100% agree with you
Raja Bell is one of the few afterthought starting shooting guards in the league. Most teams need their 2 to have a big game to win. Bell's basically the 4th or 5th option, yet he still produces 15 pts, 3 boards, and 2 assists a game. He's 2-to-1 in the turnover ratio, and is one of the few guys who's always working hard on the defensive end (even when his teammates sometimes leave him hanging on the switch).
He's in an extended shooting slump on a team where rotation players suddenly have some pressure to perform. His starting job is obviously not in jeapordy because of everything he brings to the team, but I'm sure he feels that pressure a little bit because of the type of personality he is. He does seem about half a step slow right now. I wonder how much we know about how he healed in the off-season. He's the type of guy who would play hurt and not say a thing.
He's in an extended shooting slump on a team where rotation players suddenly have some pressure to perform. His starting job is obviously not in jeapordy because of everything he brings to the team, but I'm sure he feels that pressure a little bit because of the type of personality he is. He does seem about half a step slow right now. I wonder how much we know about how he healed in the off-season. He's the type of guy who would play hurt and not say a thing.
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2005
- Posts
- 46,214
- Reaction score
- 11,795
I don't think that he will get suspended, because he never made contact with it. He may be fined though.
Louis
DJ Roomba
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2005
- Posts
- 5,316
- Reaction score
- 2
It's becoming part of his game though. Too many Suns fans are in support of his "toughness" because of what it is supposed to bring to the team.
That support really took off after his attempted decapitation of Kobe in the POs. If it were any other player save for Kobe, Raja would've gotten the flaming he deserved but instead he did it to one of the league's villains and was loved for it, nevermind the implications his antics have on the court.
I prefer his tough defense to be the physical defense he showed early last season without his cheap shots. He can still be that tough defender without being a complete *******.
zett
Hall of Famer
I think he should be penalized in some way, that was not very classy thing to do. and we don't need that kind of rep.
As far as his shooting goes, he had a stretch of about 4 or 5 games where he wasn't on. Other then that, he has shot the ball very well, I don't see any one saying nash should quit shooting after last nights stats. His job is to spot up and shoot the open J, if he doesn't shoot he will be sitting next to coach D. on the bench.
Raja does exagerate contact, but his feet are usually set and the call is sold not bought. every once in a while he will get a call his way that he doesn't deserve.
As far as his shooting goes, he had a stretch of about 4 or 5 games where he wasn't on. Other then that, he has shot the ball very well, I don't see any one saying nash should quit shooting after last nights stats. His job is to spot up and shoot the open J, if he doesn't shoot he will be sitting next to coach D. on the bench.
Raja does exagerate contact, but his feet are usually set and the call is sold not bought. every once in a while he will get a call his way that he doesn't deserve.
msdundee
Registered
Count me in as one of those "too many Suns fans" who love Raja. In all fairness the "attempted decapitation" is a bit of an overstatement, and Kobe is more of a superstar than a "villain" -- I expected a longer suspension simply because it WAS Kobe. That move may have been ill-advised and the timing was certainly not the best. However, while Bell sat out suspended in the next game Kobe used that same elbow to split Barbosa's lip. While LB was out of the game getting sewn up, somebody else should have floored him again.
I much prefer a clean game, no doubt about that -- one reason the marathon with the Nets was such pure delight. But as somebody else mentioned the Suns have too long had a well-deserved reputation for being soft and that's not good. Other teams can and do get physical and it's tough to watch your team getting smacked around. The level of physicality is intensfied in the playoffs for obvious reasons.
Most teams in the NBA include one or two players with short fuses, or at least their own little scary tactics for keeping the opposition on edge; i.e, Fortson, Howard, Nocioni, etc. -- even the squeaky-clean Spurs have Bowen and the Whirling Dervish. Bowen can polish his halo all he wants but the foot-under-the-jumpshooter trick is way more dangerous than anything Raja's done.
The best part of having a player with Raja's fire and intensity is that it's contagious, and we see that this year. When mild-mannered Nash faces up to a player half a foot taller and laughs in his face, you know the Suns are growing up.
Louis
DJ Roomba
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2005
- Posts
- 5,316
- Reaction score
- 2
It's not too many fans who love Raja, it's too many who support the way he plays with his tough guy demeanor.
It's funny because that's just fine but the moment a guy like Fortson or Manu or that guy who knocked AC Green's teeth out do things that result in Suns' guys being injured they are lambasted for their actions and accused of being dirty.
But Raja doing the same thing because he can't control his anger on the court is okay.
Raja's antics could've cost the Suns their trip to the WCF last season.
I just hope Raja concentrates more on playing hard defense without having to resort to cheapshots. In the past week he's been ejected from one game and tried to kick a guy in the balls.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2003
- Posts
- 114,718
- Reaction score
- 54,581
Raja is the enforcer on this Suns team. He brings a mental toughness the Suns need defensively. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but when referees don't make the calls, Kobe being allowed to throw elbows in the Playoffs last year for example, then a player needs to make a statement. I don't condone Raja throwing Kobe down, but I sure understand it.
Raja's mistake is that he needs to be more discreet about it and just make the hard foul. IMO, Raja is not a dirty player as I have not ever seen him intentually try to injure another player (which he could). He just sends a message to an opposing player that no bad deed goes unpunished. I'm just afraid more often than not Raja gets the wrong him of the deal from the referees while the initiating choir boy goes unpunished.
JCSunsfan
ASFN Icon
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2002
- Posts
- 22,020
- Reaction score
- 6,442
I guess I didn't interpret the incident like everyone else did. Raja was laying on the floor and Bargnani was inching backward over top of him, seemingly unaware of Raja's presence. From Raja's perspective, it looked like Bargnani was going to trip over Raja and come down on him. Raja was in a pretty vulnerable position on the floor.
It looked to me like Raja wasnt really trying to make contact as much as he was just trying to let the big guy know he was there and avoid getting squashed. The whole event looked worse from the camera angle, but that's not the angle Raja was seeing.
I could be wrong, but that's what I thought was happening.
It looked to me like Raja wasnt really trying to make contact as much as he was just trying to let the big guy know he was there and avoid getting squashed. The whole event looked worse from the camera angle, but that's not the angle Raja was seeing.
I could be wrong, but that's what I thought was happening.
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2003
- Posts
- 114,718
- Reaction score
- 54,581
Careful, you are going to hurt Raja's reputation.
I'm beginning to think the Suns need to bring Artest on board to help stabilize Raja.
