Arizas cheapshot on Blazer Fernandez

[WayOutWest]

He wasn't running down there to make a great defensive stop, either.  He was running down there to commit a foul to prevent giving up the basket...not to make a defensive stop.  The fact is that he wasn't thinking, and was just running on reaction - which is, of course, how most flagrant fouls occur - not when one is "trying to make a defensive stop" - it's when a player is trying to commit a foul to prevent giving up the basket.  And it CERTAINLY doesn't excuse them.

In times past, such a thing was called an INTENTIONAL foul.  This should be distinguised from a light foul or grab of a player, which was intentionally done, but not, per se, an "intentional" foul.  The idea that such a thing must be FLAGRANT now is, in my opinion, part of a problem that will see the escalation of hard fouls.

WRONG!  Watch the video Joe.  Try watching it in HD in a screen larger than 13 inches you back woods hick!

P.S. I'm just kidding about the 13 inches, I know you sprung for a 19 inch set back in 1992.

[WayOutWest]

And how do you make that play?  You come from behind and block it that way.  You do not go across the body, when the body is between the defender and the ball.  There is no way to make that block, unless you are 7' blocking someone who is 6', and everything is perfectly timed.  He had no chance to block the ball, unless he went through the player.

Was he going for the ball or the player?  I can't read Ariza's mind, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt.  I think he was frustrated, and as a result it became excessive, but (at least in my opinion) there was absolutely no way he could make a play on that ball considering the angle he was coming from.  So regardless of his intent, he had no realistic chance at making a play on the ball.  Since he couldn't have made a play on the ball, he would have to go through the player to get to the ball.  Going through the player was excessive, and in my opinion should have warranted a greater punishment

I watched LeBron make that play two nights ago so don't tell me it can't be done.  What about Prince running down Reggie Miller for one of the greatest blocks in playoff history?  I don't even give a fugg about the Pistons and Pacers yet I remember that block pretty clearly.  Even broken down MJ did it as a Wizard one time.  IMO that EXACT same play happens at least once a week in the NBA....so...."puh leeze".

[WayOutWest]

I've yet to see ANYONE make a block like the one Ariza was trying to make.  Prince got a clean angle.  Ditto with a couple of Bobby Jones plays.  Or Olajuwon vs. Strickland.  NONE of those involved a player flailing wildly at an opponent - especially in the vicinity of a player's HEAD.  On the other hand, pretty much every wild flail that connected with anything resulted in a flagrant foul.

Joe, I saw it on Tuesday.  LeBron blocked Baron Davis in the same manner.  If Ariza was just trying to hurt Fernandez he would not have made contact with the hand/ball, he could have hurt Rudy in so many other ways.  This discussion is getting stupid IMO.  What caused Rudy to get hurt was the contact with Rudy's hands not his head, gee I wonder why there was contact with the hands....oh that's right...that's where the flocking ball was!  God dammit this board is supposed to be better than this.

[WayOutWest]

What is really annoying is if Artest had commited the same foul on Kobe last night I would feel the same way but IMO most of you would not.  BS!

[ziggy]

I watched LeBron make that play two nights ago so don't tell me it can't be done.  What about Prince running down Reggie Miller for one of the greatest blocks in playoff history?  I don't even give a fugg about the Pistons and Pacers yet I remember that block pretty clearly.  Even broken down MJ did it as a Wizard one time.  IMO that EXACT same play happens at least once a week in the NBA....so...."puh leeze".

Puh leeze, I am going to call this post what it is, blind Laker homerism trying to rationalize what happened.  There was zero % chance for Ariza to make that block, ZERO, and that is why he didn't make the play.  If he came from a different angle, OK, but from the angle he took, where Fernandez was, and where the ball was he had no chance to block that shot, no chance.

What LeBron did is not relevant, and you bringing it up is pure obfuscation, because it was not this play, with the players taking these angles, and the ball where this ball was.  Talking about Ariza hitting Fernandez's hand is also more obfuscation.  He didn't hit his hand he hit his forearm, and that was only after he whacked him across the head.  He couldn't get to the arm without hitting him across the head.

[WayOutWest]

Puh leeze, I am going to call this post what it is, blind Laker homerism trying to rationalize what happened.  There was zero % chance for Ariza to make that block, ZERO, and that is why he didn't make the play.  If he came from a different angle, OK, but from the angle he took, where Fernandez was, and where the ball was he had no chance to block that shot, no chance.

What LeBron did is not relevant, and you bringing it up is pure obfuscation, because it was not this play, with the players taking these angles, and the ball where this ball was.  Talking about Ariza hitting Fernandez's hand is also more obfuscation.  He didn't hit his hand he hit his forearm, and that was only after he whacked him across the head.  He couldn't get to the arm without hitting him across the head.

I've got it on an HD DVR, Ariza hit Rudy's hand and might have hit the ball as well. 

LeBron came at Baron from the EXACT SAME angle, why is that NOT relavent?  Ariza being able to do what LeBron did might be impossible, IMO it it not, but being able to block that shot from the EXACT same angle is NOT impossible as you stated.  How is it not relavent regarding your claim it is impossible to make that play?  How exactly?

[ziggy]

Puh leeze, I am going to call this post what it is, blind Laker homerism trying to rationalize what happened.  There was zero % chance for Ariza to make that block, ZERO, and that is why he didn't make the play.  If he came from a different angle, OK, but from the angle he took, where Fernandez was, and where the ball was he had no chance to block that shot, no chance.

What LeBron did is not relevant, and you bringing it up is pure obfuscation, because it was not this play, with the players taking these angles, and the ball where this ball was.  Talking about Ariza hitting Fernandez's hand is also more obfuscation.  He didn't hit his hand he hit his forearm, and that was only after he whacked him across the head.  He couldn't get to the arm without hitting him across the head.

I've got it on an HD DVR, Ariza hit Rudy's hand and might have hit the ball as well. 

LeBron came at Baron from the EXACT SAME angle, why is that NOT relavent?  Ariza being able to do what LeBron did might be impossible, IMO it it not, but being able to block that shot from the EXACT same angle is NOT impossible as you stated.  How is it not relavent regarding your claim it is impossible to make that play?  How exactly?

As I said
"because it was not this play, with the players taking these angles, and the ball where this ball was".  Just because you say it was the same doesn't make it so.  Ariza had no chance to make that block.  You can say it was the all the same, but it wasn't. 

As far as the video, I have watched dozens, and dozens of times.  He did not hit his hand, he hit his arm.  It is all over the web, look it up.

[WayOutWest]

As I said
"because it was not this play, with the players taking these angles, and the ball where this ball was".  Just because you say it was the same doesn't make it so.  Ariza had no chance to make that block.  You can say it was the all the same, but it wasn't. 

That is not an impossible block, it's been made many times.

As far as the video, I have watched dozens, and dozens of times.  He did not hit his hand, he hit his arm.  It is all over the web, look it up.

I don't need to look it up since, like I already posted, I have it on HD DVR.  Do you?  You're probably referring to the BLURRY youtube crap on the web.  Try a Lakersground, they have it in HD on their site.  Try HD, you might like it.

[WayOutWest]

Try here:

http://www.lakersmedia.com/?p=1053

You can CLEARLY see Ariza hit the hand/ball before hitting the arm.  HD is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

[ziggy]

Try here:

http://www.lakersmedia.com/?p=1053

You can CLEARLY see Ariza hit the hand/ball before hitting the arm.  HD is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

I watched on DVR over and over, and I watched this video.  He did not hit the ball.  The ball was in Fernandez's left hand, and Ariza hit the right hand and the left arm.  Look at the end zone view and you can see it plain as day.  If you choose not to see it, and prefer to let the Laker announcers tell you how to think, then so be it.

The fact remains the same.  The ball was in Fernandez's left hand and the only way that Ariza could get to the ball was through Fernandez's body, no other way.  The ball was 12 to 14" in front of Fernandez's head and Ariza was behind him.  It is not physically possible to block the ball when Ariza was coming from behind and to Fernandez's right, when the ball is on Fernandez's left and in front of his body, and not take the player out.  It cannot physically be done.

What is really annoying is if Artest had commited the same foul on Kobe last night I would feel the same way but IMO most of you would not.  BS!

As Truelaker would have said,  WHAAAAA  WHAAAAA WHAAAA!!!  You have absolutely nothing to support this statement, nothing whatsoever.  I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that if this play was Kobe and Artest, and the same thing happened to Kobe that I would have said the absolute same thing.  I wouldn't have to look at it 50 times, because I could see it the first time recognize it, but I wouldn't have to argue with you about it, because you would have agreed with me.  The reality is it wasn't Kobe taking the fall from an Artest hit, it was someone else taking a hit from a Laker, and you can't see past that.

[WayOutWest]

I watched on DVR over and over, and I watched this video.  He did not hit the ball.  The ball was in Fernandez's left hand, and Ariza hit the right hand and the left arm.  Look at the end zone view and you can see it plain as day.  If you choose not to see it, and prefer to let the Laker announcers tell you how to think, then so be it.

The fact remains the same.  The ball was in Fernandez's left hand and the only way that Ariza could get to the ball was through Fernandez's body, no other way.  The ball was 12 to 14" in front of Fernandez's head and Ariza was behind him.  It is not physically possible to block the ball when Ariza was coming from behind and to Fernandez's right, when the ball is on Fernandez's left and in front of his body, and not take the player out.  It cannot physically be done.

I see it clear as day, Ariza hit Rudy on his right hand which had the ball.  If you can't see that Rudy had BOTH hands on the ball and NOT just in his left then you need to get your eyes checked and there is no point in going over the video.  Ariza hit Rudy on the head a FRACTION of a second before he hit Rudy's right hand, isn't the hand part of the ball anymore?  When Ariza hit Rudy's right hand the ball dame loose but Ariza came off the hand and onto the arm which caused Rudy to fall.

As Truelaker would have said,  WHAAAAA  WHAAAAA WHAAAA!!!  You have absolutely nothing to support this statement, nothing whatsoever.  I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that if this play was Kobe and Artest, and the same thing happened to Kobe that I would have said the absolute same thing.  I wouldn't have to look at it 50 times, because I could see it the first time recognize it, but I wouldn't have to argue with you about it, because you would have agreed with me.  The reality is it wasn't Kobe taking the fall from an Artest hit, it was someone else taking a hit from a Laker, and you can't see past that.

WRONG....again....oh well...keep drinking the Hatorade.

[WayOutWest]

Nuff said!

[ziggy]

As Truelaker would have said,  WHAAAAA  WHAAAAA WHAAAA!!!  You have absolutely nothing to support this statement, nothing whatsoever.  I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that if this play was Kobe and Artest, and the same thing happened to Kobe that I would have said the absolute same thing.  I wouldn't have to look at it 50 times, because I could see it the first time recognize it, but I wouldn't have to argue with you about it, because you would have agreed with me.  The reality is it wasn't Kobe taking the fall from an Artest hit, it was someone else taking a hit from a Laker, and you can't see past that.

WRONG....again....oh well...keep drinking the Hatorade.

Where am I wrong??   Name calling is beneath you.  You have absolutely NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING to support your assertion that I or anyone, save Reality, would respond the way you say we would respond.  Save me the Chicken Shyte Hatorade BS.  This is not an anti-Laker thing, no matter how you want to delude yourself into believing it.

[Skandery]

Try here:

http://www.lakersmedia.com/?p=1053

You can CLEARLY see Ariza hit the hand/ball before hitting the arm.  HD is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Anyone reading the thread.  Click on WOW's video link.  I want someone to tell me what Trevor Ariza is doing at the exactly 50 second mark.  There's another better angle at exactly 1:00.  And another good angle at 5:36.  Someone tell me WTF Trevor Ariza is doing? 


You're right WOW, HD is sweet.  You've convinced me that it is without a doubt a frustration play with malicious intent. 

[WayOutWest]

Where am I wrong??   Name calling is beneath you.  You have absolutely NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING to support your assertion that I or anyone, save Reality, would respond the way you say we would respond.  Save me the Chicken Shyte Hatorade BS.  This is not an anti-Laker thing, no matter how you want to delude yourself into believing it.

You are WRONG in YOUR assertion of my reaction.  Who's the pot and who's the kettle in this one ziggy?  I'm kinda round so I'm thinking "pot".  I name call all the time, it's clearly a level I aspire to get UP to, so in that regard you are wrong as well.