I don’t think it is. He went for the ball, it’s unfortunate that Rudy fell awkwardly and got injured but doesn’t change the fact that Ariza went for the ball. I don’t know how Blazers Edge comes off making a big deal about it (pure homerism). This is exactly like saying Horford wanted to hurt TJ which is nonsense. In the heat of the game you’re going for the block, you don’t care about the score, the angle you’re coming at and any of that nonsense. The argument that it was a blowout game and Ariza shouldn’t have gone for that play is equally lame. You could counter that by saying Fernandez shouldn’t have gone for the dunk given the score and just pulled it back.
What’s your take? Has the NBA turned pussy on us? I think so, there have been way too many flops on the perimeter called for charges, players stepping in just outside the circle while moving to get the call, crab-dribbles, and other such nonsense like traveling not even being called. In my opinion, these practices by the referees combined with their inconsistency has devalued the game.
88 Raps
I think it’s at least a flagrant 1 because of the wrecklessness of the attempted block. I agree that Ariza was going for the ball, but the way he went for it is my issue. He took a very hard swing at the ball, harder than most guys even in this race-back-in-transition type play.
Perhaps this opinion doesn’t meet the criteria of a flagrant foul, I haven’t read the exact definitions. But I believe Ariza went for the block in a much more aggressive manner than usual, which will often lead to injury. The purpose of the flagrant foul is to prevent injury, and this incident IMHO was avoidable.
Oak
I’d go so far as to say it’s almost a clean block when Ariza swipes at the ball. The issue is that after the ball is knocked away, their arms arms get tangled, and that’s what throws Rudy off balance and causes him to hit the deck.
Now, it’s possible, and I can’t tell from the video, that Ariza actually grabbed Fernandez’ arm at that point; that would probably be flagrant, if that’s what happened, but it’s just as possible that the arms simply got tangled, without any grabbing or anything, just accidental contact, and the crash was caused by sheer momentum.
Either way I don’t think it was a malicious act; it’s not like Ariza shoved him from behind or a threw a flying elbow or something, it was two athletic guys trying to make athletic plays; unfortunately, these things happen in b-ball (just ask Garbo).
Talking about a play being a clean block up until the point where a foul occurs is pointless and irrelevant.
If you foul while trying to block a shot there’s nothing clean about it.
Pretty innocuous as a foul, just a bad turn of events for Fernandez.
He didn’t have to land like that.. he was selling it.
Gone are the days of Riley’s Knicks or Zeke’s Pistons or Malone’s elbows KOing people. This is a ballerina league full of “finesse” players, I’m just waiting for Stern to implement the mandatory pink tutus and no contact rules.
Sad.
sure. because guys flying through the air always have total control of how they land when they get decked. i’m not trying to be a prick, but do you play much? if so, then you should know it doesn’t take much to knock you off balance while in mid-air, even if the contact isn’t anything major. rudy’s going pretty much full speed, as is ariza…they’re both in the air, and rudy gets hit pretty hard in the head, then their arms tangle. more than enough to cause that kind of landing.
Here’s my thing.. I simply don’t believe the contact made by Ariza was enough to cause Rudy to make a full rotation. When he got to hit he could have simply landed, but he continues this out of control spinorama and then lands. Tell my why Rudy is rotating on a straight up dunk? BECAUSE HE WAS SELLING IT! Guy gets grazed over the top of his head and then turns into blob in mid air.
Please, spare me. And I play every Tuesday AM and on Sunday if my buddy gets the keys to the gym at the school near by. I’ve been hit plenty of times mid air, I never lose control of my body to that degree.
Guess we are going to have to disagree there, vegetable hater. Funny, I’m vegetarian.
i guess so. i just can’t see how any objective viewer can watch the vid & conclude that rudy was playing it up. considering that from point of contact with ariza to point of contact with the floor, i’m guessing that about 1/2 a second passed by. not much time to make a decision to ham it up & contort one’s body unnaturally…and to what effect? so he can land more awkwardly? you don’t think you’re maybe reaching a bit? if it was the other way around, and rudy had hit ariza, with the same result, would you think the same?
Yes, I would.
Flux, the fact that you play ball once, maybe twice a week (if you get the keys – who cares) means nothing.
These guys are playing at a different level. Their speed and jumping ability is something you can’t relate to. The reason you don’t lose body control is simple. You’re not off the ground high enough or running fast enough.
Rudy takes a shot to the head in mid-air running full out. Sure, Ariza went for the ball, but it was also way too aggressive of a swipe at it. Good on the Blazers for being upset and defending their teammate.
Oh, what could’ve been with Brandon Roy…
I agree.. I was just answering his question. But I would contest your assesment of my running and jumping ability. How dare you, Sir?? :P If I can dunk, does that qualify as being able to relate? : )
My point, overall, was simply that Ariza is not 100% the reason why Rudy landed that way.
Someday there should be a Raptors Republic pick up game. THAT would be awesome with everybody analyzing and bitching about each other’s play/strategy/lineup/etc. HA!
Who cares if its malicious? That always leaves players who want to hurt other players with a way out. I say in the regular season this is a Flagrant 2 – tossed from the game with another game suspension to boot. In the playoffs, tossed from the game. It’s the recklessness that matters. Ariza didn’t care if Rudy got in the way of his attempt to block the ball. That’s how serious injuries occur and what’s the point of that in a 20-pt. regular season blowout.
BC better at least call Ariza’s agent before he makes an offer to resign Marion. He might be the kind of reckless/tough guy the Raptors could use.
Horford on TJ was more of a flagrant foul than this one. Rudy was off-balance, and the knock against his arm (not body-checking, or pulling down) swung his monentum awkwardly.
I don’t have a problem with Ariza leaving the game, but I do not believe there should be a suspension. Ejection from a game would, in fact, be the safest course of action for the Lakers, and the crowd wouldn’t go crazy. Also, it was the third quarter – Rudy was certainly entitled to dunk, and Ariza to block. It is just unfortunate that the block caught his arm and swung him to the ground so hard.
It was not an excessive use of force while trying to get the ball, whereas with Horford, although he was going for the ball, could have done so differently without creating the contact.
re-watch the vid, gents. ariza almost makes the block cleanly, but in the process also almost removes rudy’s head from his shoulders. it wasn’t about getting tangled, or how he fell – it may not have been intentional or in any way malicious, but guys have to take ownership of their actions. i love the ‘he was going for the ball’ line. so, if i’m holding the ball behind my head, you can punch me in the face, since technically, you’re ‘going for the ball?’ puh-lease.
it was a head shot. he didn’t mean to hit him in the head, but he did. the drunk driver who runs over the nun doesn’t ‘mean’ to run over the nun…they’re just trying to get home. ariza didn’t mean to clock him in the head, but his head was between him & the ball, and he was going for the ball, so screw it.
i wonder…are the perceptions that it ‘wasn’t that bad’ based on the fact it was a euro who got hit? y’know, ’cause euros aren’t that tough, and are always flopping & the like?
“almost removes rudy’s head from his shoulders” HOLY! Exaggerate much? Dude, Rudy looks up towards the rim after the contact and doesn’t even motion for his head after the landing (say, you know, if it was hurting).
A head shot? Are you kidding? Do you know what a head shot it. Ariza crates a sweeping motion from right to left above Rudy’s head, and his elbow creates INCIDENTAL contact. That hardly qualifies as punching someone in the face.
You have to be kidding me with this assessment of events. Ridiculous.
i’m starting to think there’s something wrong with your eyesight. watch the slo-mo portion of the vid, and check how far forward rudy’s head jumps upon contact. he didn’t reach up to his head ’cause he’d landed full-bore on his side, and was probably struggling to breath.
i’m not talking about ariza’s intent, i get that he was going for the ball. no wonder you and khan are such good buds, you ’see’ things just how you want to.
That’s funny, because if you were paying attention, you would realize Khandor and myself don’t agree on much.. AT ALL. We don’t agree on TO as a destination for players, we don’t agree on Jose, we don’t agree on TJ, we don’t agree on Bosh, we don’t agree on many other things.
Sorry yertu, I just don’t think that contact caused all that reaction form Rudy. Some, yeah, all of it, no! So maybe 50 50? No? Yeah? Some mushrooms with that? : )
oh, i know you two don’t agree on much. but you’ve come to an agreement of some sort, no? mutual respect/agree to disagree kind of thing? when he writes something that should tweak you, you let it slide, and vice versa.
anyway, i respect your opinion, but i can’t bring myself to agree with it. 50/50?
Actually, we didn’t need to come to any sort of agreement. I respect everyone and their opinion.. even I completely don’t agree with it. He just doesn’t come at me like other cats do, so I don’t have to break out the claws.
Wasn’t really looking for you to agree with me, just maybe give the benefit of the doubt that he may have been selling… just a lil bit. And I just didn’t see how you think Arize was trying to decapitate him… or in the words of Walton, came at him with “no regard for human life”…lol
It’s all good, yertu, you know we are straight… I’m cool with everyone, even Andiamo, who I’ve had to endure a barrage of insults from, and I am sure I will in the future.
Flagrant 1, not flagrant 2.
Lots of harm but, IMO, this should NOT have been a Flagrant 2 Foul Call … just like Al Horford’s unfortunate foul last season on TJ Ford should NOT have been a Flagrant 2 Foul Call.
THIS is how the NBA’s Rules actually read, re: Flagrant 1 & 2 Foul Calls:
A flagrant foul-penalty (2) is unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent. It is an unsportsmanlike act and the offender is ejected immediately.
There was nothing “unnecessary AND excessive” about Ariza’s attempt to block that layup attempt by Fernandez.
Exactly, per definition this is not a flagrant 2 foul.
As for a flagrant 1 foul, it’s deemed as unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent.
They’re not clear whether the contact is incidental or not, in this case I think it was.
Unnecessary? So, what does that even mean? He shouldn’t have went for the block? Because he touches anything more then the ball, and creates contact, it’s deemed unnecessary? That’s some BS right there.
You tell me where there he commits unnecessary contact?
I’m agreeing with you. It should’ve been a personal foul, nothing more.
I know Arse… it was more of rant about the wording of that rule. You just happened to put it up, so I replied there.
I think they’ve changed the definition to secretly include: or anytime a player could get seriously hurt due to the actions of others.
Actually, I didn’t notice it the first time I saw the video:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3967289
yertu is right, it was a headshot. It was a more serious block attempt than I thought. There was no flop, shame on anyone who thinks it was.
Ariza didn’t do it on purpose, but he needed to have better body control if he was going to get him from behind. LeBron has one of these blocks a game it seems, and he is jumping 3 ft above the rim to do it properly. (And, by the way, IMO it is only a matter of time before LeBron makes a mistake and his body crashes into the offensive player and knocks him unconscious. But, at least LeBron jumps high enough that he doesn’t swat the guy in the head.)
I still don’t think it was malicious, or even a hard foul. It was a swat attempt that missed, hit him in the head and pulled his arm, swinging his momentum. Suspension still might be excessive, but if there was one, it wouldn’t bother me too much. You need better body control if you are going to try that to someone in mid-air. But, I think, the flagrant assessed might be an adequate punishment as well.
where does he pull his arm?? I see their arms get tangled, but I don’t think Ariza is pulling on it. I don’t think that’s enough to get Rudy to spin.
my opinion about whether it was a flagrant 1 or 2 has nothing to do with the actual rules of the game. It was about what I think the level of responsibility a player should have for the use of his own body, intentions aside, and going for the ball aside.
Ariza did not pull his arm, if I take it to mean that pulling requires grabbing and making the other player’s arm move with yours. But, in my opinion, Rudy’s arm was pulled (if I can use that word). All I mean is that Ariza’s arm came down, and stuck onto his for a split second, shifting his momentum. Rudy was not balanced in the air because I think he was going for a fancier dunk, and unfortunately was taken down.
Ariza needed to be ejected for the sake of the Lakers and Ariza himself. The league cannot suspend him because he clearly did not meet the criteria the league has set out, per Khandor’s quote of the rulebook. But, I would not be upset if the league suspended him, under the idea of being responsible for your own body on the court. Like I said, it was a little careless, not overly so. Look how high LeBron jumps to get that same block. And, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day LeBron’s body ends up knocking someone to the ground and injuring him too. It isn’t like these guys where pads.
And Fernandez was not flopping. He was off-balance. And his not being able to get up? Ya, he wanted to get taken off on a stretcher – that is every player’s dream.
And Flux, the sarcasm at the end was not directed at you.
It was aimed at those wishing to claim that he was taken off on a stretcher because he is European, or a wuss, or wanted the special treatment, or any other such stupidity.
Yeah, I’m will it say the contact of the arms MAY have cause a slight change of direction to Rudy.. I just didn’t see it as him pulling him.
The stretcher bit was a little much, but I guess that’s just precaution.
No offence Flux but getting nostalgic for the 90’s Knicks is like a hockey fan getting weepy over the demise of the neutral zone trap. If it wasn’t for Jordan going off, the 90’s would have been a low point for basketball. Some of those games were gawdawful.
And all this talk about hard fouls and manliness is a load of crap. When a man’s team is down 20 in a regular season game and a guy from the team that is deservedly kicking his team’s ass goes in for a dunk, that man either runs into position to actually have a chance to get the block or takes the ass-whooping like a man. Where I come from little boys start pushing when they’re getting beat, not men.
And for the millionth-time, crap we should have drafted Roy . . .
And I still think the Raptors have to make a play for Ariza this summer.
I’m not saying they should be boxing out there, just that sometimes calls are made where there are no fouls and some calls are blow out of proportion. The institution of this FLAG 1 and 2 is what started this whole..”Oh, now I get to judge the severity of the call” and subsequent bickering over what’s a foul and what’s not and how many games suspended.
A ref should just make a simple call on ejecting a guy or not. Period.
That’s enough to describe the severity of the foul.
If he meant harm in any way, he wouldn’t have even attempted to block the ball… he would have shoved him, grabbed his arm… anything but motion towards the ball. He even landed flew and landed away from him, not tried to body check him.
You are right tho, every single Raptor stops in his tracks and just watches that layup.
No Flux, every single Raptor plays like a pussy the next game they play whoever set up the layup line against them. That’s their problem. There’s a difference between being tough and being a punk but they’re a lot closer than a lot of people think (from the comfort of their keyboard). Ariza probably crossed that line a bit. I’d suspend him a game. If he does the same thing in the playoffs he should be tossed but no suspension. Same for Big Baby.
Not a flagrant 2. Echoing everyone else, it was an attempt at the ball, not the body. Now what Big Baby did to Varejao – that’s a foul without even thinking about the ball, a horsecollar that should carry a 3 game suspension.
Don’t think it should have been a flagrant 2. Was an idiot move, but an attempt for the ball nonetheless. Flagrant 1 perhaps, although what defines an unnecessary contact is pretty vague. In basketball, couldn’t you theoretically never touch another player? So all contact is unnecessary? Bleh…
In my opinion, didn’t flop though. He got clubbed in the head pretty hard (did actually remind me of TJ, the way his head buckles a bit), then got tangled up in midair, while moving at the speed of a full sprint (full sprint for NBA player at that), after being hit by a 6-8, 210 pound player also going at full sprint… That’s recipe enough for a fall without the conspiracy theorists screaming ‘flop’.
That’s what I am asking above, what is unnecessary contact? So when Shaq (or any big) is posting up someone and doing all that banging.. that’s a flagrant 1?
That rule is what turned the league soft.. all of a sudden we are measuring the degree of impact. If that’s the case, get some sort of radar gun that measures impact like in the Rocky movie and we’ll be all set.
Not even close to a flagrant. It’s unfortunate what happened, but it was a clear attempt on the ball, it was Rudy’s fall that makes it look so hardcore. League is definitely trying to make it as ‘clean’ as possible, which actually does take away from the game in terms of rivalries and hating an opponent. I’m not encouraging all out dirty play, but sometimes its good to get into a little scuffle, not flagrant fouls or anything.
Rudy going out on a stretcher was a little bit soccer. No offense to soccer Arse but the NBA has to be a tougher place, Paul Pierce nonwithstanding. I think it’s indicative of the Euro-ization of the league along with the flopping you were talking about. You know when they take the guy off on the stretcher and he comes back on the next whistle to try and get the guy carded? I don’t feel like faking injuries is desirable in sports.
They did a full battery of tests and he’s got a bruised chest and abdomen.
Did rudy come back? or was there a serious possibility that a bruised chest would feel like cracked ribs. And a bruise to the abdomen? That hurts man.
In soccer, people dive to get the ref’s attention and hopefully get a free kick. You see it most when a player was stripped of an advantage cleanly, and so to restore the advantage the player goes down. Flopping in soccer has nothing to do with being a pussy – those guys are actually pretty tough. it has to do with acting to get the call. Sometimes, even, it isn’t a flop, but a player falls because he is running as fast as he possibly can and trying to maneuver at the same time – and then he acts afterwards looking for a call. Again, this is about acting to gain an advantage.
What advantage did Rudy gain? None.
Oh, and in soccer, a red card means that the team plays with one less man. In a soccer game, where games are decided by 1 or 2 goals that is a serious advantage. In basketball, what advantage is there to getting a bench player out for the final quarter, and in possibly future games?
Again, what would the Blazers, ahead by 28 points gain by getting Ariza out of the game? Nothing.
Good points V, I retract my statement.
I still feel like most American players would have popped right up though.
Actually that’s not fair to say either, there are a lot soft American players too.
Bargs popped right up when whoever it was on the Heat sent him to the floor with a bloody nose under the hoop. Even made his free throws before going to the locker room for attention. And he looked stunned after first getting hit.
I agree it shouldn’t have been a flagrant 2, but forget what defines a flagrant 1 or 2. The real reason he got tossed is because of all the animosity after the play.
The NBA is not the NHL. They won’t leave a guy on the floor for the other team to repay the favor to. After the malice at the Palace, they take no chances and eject anyone if something could come of a situation later.
The NBA cares about its image, that’s why he was tossed.
Flux,
—————————————
That’s funny, because if you were paying attention, you would realize Khandor and myself don’t agree on much.. AT ALL. We don’t agree on TO as a destination for players, we don’t agree on Jose, we don’t agree on TJ, we don’t agree on Bosh, we don’t agree on many other things.
—————————————
As I said in the other thread, it never ceases to amaze just how wrong some people’s impressions can be about something or someone. Even though you just wrote what you wrote, right here, my $$$ says that yertu will still choose not to see things your way about this. : )
if by ‘this’ you mean the ariza/rudy thing, then you’re right, i can’t agree. i see it one way, you may see it another, and flux may see it differently than both of us. what irked me was the notion that rudy, in less than 1/2 a second, made the decision to exagerate the contact & put himself in a more dangerous position with respect to how he landed. to me, that’s just silly. but hey, to each their own.
and i understand that you two don’t ‘agree’ on much, but clearly, you’ve each extended the other a mutual respect that neither of you share with many others. it’s like it’s ok if you disagree with each other, but anyone else who disagrees with either of you is WRONG, as khan so eloquently stated above.
whatever.
Yertu, as far as not extending respect to other people. Honestly, like I said above, a very high percentage of the time some yahoo has something smart to say about a comment I post (not a reply, just my own comment). In that case, some times, I lay down the smack down. Other time I don’t. Like remember when you hit me up with the “slurp” comment.
Khandor, to his credit, never ever… not once, that I know of, has blasted someone after they do it to him. He takes more craps on here then anyone, and he never brings it down to that level. IMO, of course.
You are a douche bag and so is Khandor.
verbatim,
—————————————
It isn’t like these guys where pads.
—————————————
Actually … that’s not really the situation any more. : )
Well, now you’re just picking at details. :o)
You know what I meant. Yes, players who fall a lot, (Iverson, Wade etc) do wear braces. Rudy was not though.
Whether there was intent to hit Fernandez’ head, or not, is irrelevant. What is relevant, however, is that, according to Dick Bavetta’s interpretation of these events, what Ariza did constituted “unnecessary AND excessive contact with an opponent player”. It’s a Foul Call which is open to the interpretation of the Official in question. Bavetta made his call. Period.
see, i can agree with that. i’ve not even suggested that it should be a F-2, and i certainly don’t think a suspension is in order.
but the one thing that i kept coming back to me was that while ariza was clearly trying to make a play on the ball, and didn’t intend to do harm, he also acted in a way that suggested he DIDN’T CARE if harm came to him. am i off-base on that? he tried his hardest to make a play (and, good on him…he didn’t quit even though it was a blow-out), and despite what he INTENDED to do, i think it’s at least somewhat obvious that he didn’t care what the repurcussions of his actions were. he knew rudy was in an indefensible position, but continued his course of action knowing that there was the possibility of causing injury. that was not his intent, but doesn’t there have to be some onus on players to not willfully continue with an action that could easily cause injury to another? i know, the counter is that there is physical contact each & every possession that could cause injury…that’s what makes it a tough call.
http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/2009/03/09/good-news-the-lakers-arent-dirty-they-just-dont-care-if-they-kill-you-on-accident/
rudy sold that shit. like bums do krispy kreme donuts on dearborn avenue. if that was kyle lowry or something he would have just absorbed the contact…and one.
i think if that was jose on the break he would have went stretcher too. it makes alot of sense and it adds more to the effect.
fernandez rules though and pau looked really worried.
So, I am not the only on the sale aspect.
verbatim,
It’s important to have a good sense of humour. : ) I agree with your take. I saw no embellishment from Fernandez, on this play, as it seems he just got twisted-up in the air, based on the contact which was initiated by Ariza, and fell awkwardly, without being able to brace hihself with his hands.
Not suprised how Rudy fell. He has a tendancy to kick his legs forward when dunking. It looks as if he was searching for the floor with his legs but was too high up and his body and legs continued to rotate away from him. Too bad, he’s a good pick up.
The league is soft as kittens. IMO the problem is called Tunnel Vision. For example, when you work on one project for so long it becomes a blur. In some cases you stop noticing all the details of your work. Pieces are wrong, pieces are forgot, too much one thing not enough of another.
What the league needs is fresh eyes to make decisions. Stern is fantastic, arguably the best in the biz, but he should stay away from the on court product and rule changes and focus on expanding the game internationaly.
yertu,
1. The “this” was not the “Ariza/Rudy thing”.
2. In fact, I would have lost my $$$, if you truly are able to see that Flux and I happen not to agree with one another on very much that relates to basketball, yet somehow still manage to behave respectfully toward each other, as mature human beings should, in both of our opinions.
3. The simple FACT IS … when one of us says something that the other disagrees with, neither of one us expects the other to “just let it go unchecked”. On the contrary. If I’ve earned his R.E.S.P.E.C.T. for anything which I’ve done online [you will need to ask him about that, not me : ), or perhaps checked in with the person who runs the "Live In-game Chats" over at LABalltalk] then I am certainly appreciative of that [and, I believe, he knows, that it cuts both ways, if it exists at all], but there is no “agreement” between us that is not also extended to others we each come into contact with [here and elsewhere], on a reguar basis. As Flux has already written on this site, “Live and Let Live.” Period. It doesn’t get more simple than that. Those who resort to name-calling, cursing, and all manner of put downs are no friends of mine; neither are those who are too “soft” to deal appropriately and productively with being told by someone else that what they believe MAY well actually, and factually, BE CONSIDERED WRONG by someone else who truly does know what s/he is talking about, given a particular expertise in a specific area of life. In my experience, Flux is someone who fits properly into THIS mature category, and I can tell you that he has my R.E.S.P.E.C.T. for THAT, and for being an open-minded person, in general, who loves life, likes to learn from and/or teach others whereever it’s appropriate and spends some of his time on this site because [IMO] he thinks it can be an enjoyable experience to share his fondness for Raptors’ Basketball with other fans of the team.
As always, it’s a pleasure exchanging thoughts and ideas and opinions, etc., on-line with you [and others], when you take a productive approach to understanding something which I’ve written that you happen not to agree with, either right away or, perhaps, at all, for that matter.
Khandor, just read #23 ( I don’t know, if that’s the number in regular comments) and I couldn’t have said it better myself. That is what it is.
LABallTalk.. good times there last year!!
For anyone to suggest a player in mid air after drawing contact would not try to land on there feet to make the foul look worse is CRAZY.
1. not enough time (split second)
2. common sense (100% of all people unless your suicidal would try to land safely) Not to mention is human instinct.
Not that any more needs ro be said but the game was over… why try to make it look worse and risk injury????
CRAZY TALK
I am a hardcore Indiana Pacers fan and I look forward to facing your franchise on Saturday, March 15. It will be nice for us to get an easy win on the road against the second worst team in the conference as we make our final playoff push coming down the stretch.
I stumbled across this site when I went looking online for information about some of your players – aside from Bosh and the person impersonating Shawn Marion – the rest of your roster is not very well known around league circles. Apparently, you have someone named Pops on your roster that you guys are just delighted with. I have never heard of him. Perhaps he will allow you to move into 13th in the conference standings.
I was also looking for information about who was going to back up your point guard – you know…the one who just scored 3 points in 31 minutes against the Jazz and subbed in occasionally for the Spanish Olympic team? Luckily, I checked around and found information on an Ukic and a Solomon. I hope our scouts are well versed in the Euro leagues, because we sure don’t want to be caught off guard by some awesome foreign talent. Are these guys any good? We have a pretty decent point guard ourselves named TJ Ford that we were able to steal from you guys for a cap-crippling corpse named Jermaine O’Neal. I hope your starting point guard, Jose, gets to guard TJ. While his decision-making still sucks, at least he is quick enough to guard some of the other point guards in the league.
We also have a player named Daniel Granger that your GM was kind enough to leave for us in the draft. Thank you, Toronto, for that. I guess you guys were already stacked with too much talent. BTW – very interesting to see that there is a debate around here about what to do with Joey Graham. I wonder if that is a debate that would take place among teams that are higher up in the standings.
Anyways, good luck on Saturday Toronto. I understand that you all will be able to watch this game on T.V., provided that the Brier finishes on time.
OMG..This is fucking hilarious.Definitely will be the Rap of The Day tomorrow. Nunya’s rap wins out today.
My favorite part:
Very interesting to see that there is a debate around here about what to do with Joey Graham. I wonder if that is a debate that would take place among teams that are higher up in the standings. Anyways, good luck on Saturday Toronto. I understand that you all will be able to watch this game on T.V., provided that the Brier finishes on time.
So true.
If you wrote this, you are a satirical genius.
CLASSIC. Toronto – where farming for the NBA happens. It’s just in our Canadian nature, always helping out, giving more – taking less.
“cap crippling corpse” ROFL
Yeah we wouldn’t want to be rude to this asshole coming here to gloat over the Pacer’s rise to 12th in the East. Flux, you’re more Canadian than you’ll admit. Stand up man, stand up
I am citizen of the world, my friend, but a proud Canadian. I have lived in many a countries. And you have to admit, that was pretty funny, so I appreciated it for what it was.
I think Mike D is a Rap fan, anyway.
I just wanna know where the ppl saying Indiana was going to suck and Raps would dominate are?
FREE FLUX!! FREE CANADA!! FREE SAM!! FREE EVERYONE!!
Dear Toronto Fans,
I did not want to ruffle any feathers or upset anyone with my earlier post. I merely wanted to say that I look forward to our upcoming game against one another – one that I will be able to watch here in Indianapolis on a broadcast that does not include Brian Henney, Rod Black or Head and Shoulders poster boy Matt Devlin. You guys up North are very lucky to have such high quality analysts. Brian Henney, I understand, even used to be an NBA coach. Good for you, Toronto!!!
I also did not mean to upset anyone with my remarks about the Jermaine O’Neal trade. You have to understand what it was like to be an Indiana fan in the summer of 2008 B.C. (Before Colangelo) – we had no hope. We were expecting to finish last in the conference. We were strapped against the cap paying 22 million a season for a 12 point per game cripple coming off of his 9th knee surgery. Everybody was telling us that the rest of the decade would be lost because of his contract – O’Neal was virtually untradeable at that price. Our GM shopped him to the rest of the league, but to no avail. We literally could not give him away.
Then Brian Colangelo and his friend Maurizio Gheardini decided to get on the phone. When I first heard we were dealing with those two, I got understandably nervous. Colangelo was apparently an “executive of the year”, according to the NBA and we were negotiating from a position of extreme weakness. What would be his price for taking O’Neal off our hands? A First Round Pick? Granger? When I first heard that we were getting Ford, Nesterovic and Hibbert in the deal, I didn’t believe it. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is. I asked myself – Why would Toronto give us two of their quality starters and a first round draft choice for doing us a favour? Nesterovic is practically as good as O’Neal, after all, for a quarter of the cost and Ford is a gamebreaker. Who would start for that Raptor team? Who would back up the point? I guess I didn’t believe you guys would seriously put a team on the court that included Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono and Roko Ukic all playing key roles.
But then again, I am not an Executive of the Year.
Mike D – I love you.
From “Raptors” to “Ratpors” ….!!!!
Guilty as charged.
Guilty for telling the Truth ..???!!!!
I think it has to do with the Lakeshow being blown out, seemingly more reason for Ariza to foul.
One of the poll options is to “obstain” from buying tickets. My inner spelling nazi cried itself to sleep.
Good eye, I did it in a rush. Apologies. You may sleep with my sister.
Mike D,
When it’s written like those two entries of yours, satirical commentary which encourages us ALL to laugh WITH one another [as Raptors fans] AT someone who SHOULD be big enough to take it, considering his 2 EOTY Awards and his multi-million dollar contract and his role of Grand Puba with this franchise, with absolutely no interst here, is PURE internet GOLD!
LMAOROTGKAS : )
dick bavetta…
makes fidel castro look like elian gonzalez.
Unsportsmanlike, stupid, dangerous, half-malicious (this guy is up 24 and is gonna dunk on us? I don’t think so)
It’s kind of like mansluaghter. Didn’t mean to do it, but your actions caused great harm and/or potential great harm, so you must be punished. The end.
A fucking pacers fan…..how pathetic. Its one thing to hear garbage from a follower of a team thats decent, but Indiana is trash too. Granger is overrated as much as anyone in the league. What have the pacers even done in the last 5 season except cry and moan. Mike D…your a retard
I truly envy the pacers…so many wins, so many titles, such a beautiful place…
FYI …
Mike D is a Raptors Fan who wrote two exquisite pieces of satirical commentary on the present state of the team which he follows.
OTTP,
re: a RR game of hoops
Did you catch The Score’s Court Surfing show last night? … allegedly with “real-life” Raptors’ RealGM.comERS as the back-drop audience.
Average age looked to be somewhere in the teens.
Hmmmmmm ….
As Flux has mentioned several times before … makes you wonder sometimes about the sophistication level of the team’s actual fanbase.
Flagrant 1 for sure, it just sucks that Ariza got just enough of the head to twick the neck of Rudy and jam his nervous system. For consideration of Rudy and his condition at the incident, it would be best to eject Ariza with a flagrant-2, even it was truly not his intention to hurt him and tried to exert effort on defense. It would be fair if Ariza is not suspended for a game and just pays a fine.
Well here’s a difference between this and the TJ Ford incident @ ATL in DEC 2007, the entire 5 on-court for the Portland Blazers team stood up for Rudy, ran to the offender to give him crap, and took a look to their downed teammate. Portland has a talent and chemistry foundation that is already solidified, and they are tough enough in the mind as well.
Our Raps team looks like a bunch of passive cowards. It all starts from our passive “franchise” player and Kapono leaving practices early does not help as well. What would happen if Parker got mauled in the situation? I bet the same thing would happen, the coach runs and yells to the offender while Bosh stands back like a retard.
Blazers are lucky that Fernandez is not TJ Ford. Fernandez will be back on the floor in a week and will take more contact then ever.
Khandor is a douche bag.
His real name is khancer, that is, closely resembling the closest thing to cancer that a website could have.