*NBA THREAD* Abe will be missed (5 Viewers)

[tommyGunZ]

For the record, I like the funny crazy version of Artest, but I would give him 25 games (enough so he can play again this year) and massively fine him and donate it to some sort of mental health program.

The track record is too long, and he hasn't really changed at all. Its kind of sad really. He seems like a nice guy 99.9% of the time, but he is unstable and probably shouldn't be allowed to play in the NBA.

We all know Stern will do something stupid though like 2 games and a few extra NBA cares commercials.

The guy won the NBA's citizenship award last year.

That doesn't change the fact that he's a ticking time bomb.

My first introduction to one of the all time greats, Chuck D.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

You guys' guesses are as good as mine, but there isn't much precedence for 10 game suspensions for in game elbows. It's not like it was pre-meditated; it was purely reactionary, in the moment, and if you watch the tape closely Artest never even looked at Harden. I'm not suggesting Artest doesn't deserve a multi-game suspension, I just think people have forgotten how much of a positive change Artest has made in recent years, and Stern won't ignore that when dropping the hammer.

It was on NBC news. Stern has to react to the bad press of a repeat offender. He wound up that elbow with bad intensions. I think it will be a hefty suspension.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

You guys' guesses are as good as mine, but there isn't much precedence for 10 game suspensions for in game elbows. It's not like it was pre-meditated; it was purely reactionary, in the moment, and if you watch the tape closely Artest never even looked at Harden. I'm not suggesting Artest doesn't deserve a multi-game suspension, I just think people have forgotten how much of a positive change Artest has made in recent years, and Stern won't ignore that when dropping the hammer.

I think it will be a hefty suspension.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

Unlike Kobe, who I think is probably an ####### in real life, I think Artest is a solid, solid dude who I would like if he was my neighbor.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

ETA: Steve Blake and Artest playing beach football....Artest is a clown.

 

[oneohh]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

Oh so that's how it works? The needle just goes back to zero? Now that he's raised money for charity and changed his name, Ron Artest has finally achieved the coveted status of..sane. Give it a rest, man.

 

[pollardsvision]

Bobcats trying to take the Loss % record in style.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

Artest being sent home from rookie orientation 13 yrs ago because he missed a meeting is relevant? I think he's turned it around. Guy isn't nearly the head case he was 8 years ago. The last few years he's what, gotten a flagrant foul and been late to practice? Obviously he can still lose it momentarily like he did yesterday, but let's be honest, Artest was unlucky yesterday in that the no-look elbow connected. If it doesn't connect, he gets a T, and doesn't even come out of the lineup.

 

[Gr00vus]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

Whether he's a good guy off the court or not is irrelevant to figuring out what kind of punishment he should get for violence he perpetrates on/near the court. You can't have this kind of stuff going on, regardless of how much beach football he plays with kids or how much he donates to charity. He's obviously a few synapses short of a fully operational battle station and a repeat offender. How do you treat such a person? We all know he isn't going to learn anything from whatever punishment is handed down, so it's strictly a case of attempting to keep up appearances. Thus you'd have to expect a harsher than usual penalty in this circumstance.

 

[John Bender]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

Look at this guy.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

He's been suspended for a total of 2 games over the last 7 years, and in that time has become a spokesman for mental health issues and won the NBA citizen of the year award.Again, I'm not proclaiming his innocence, and I believe he should be suspended, but if we're going to look at Ron's past history, let's look at it all, and in context.

 

[oneohh]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

None of it matters. He went after a guy, knew exactly what he was doing and has a list of priors a mile long. He screwed up big time - again - and will pay dearly - again.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Neither david stern nor I care if Ron won the nobel peace prize just last week. He is a repeat offender of the highest degree. His elbow was intentional. The thing has made national main stream news. Stern isnt going to slap him on the wrists.

 

[Dr. Gobbler]

I emailed Mr. Stern today and told him to drop the hammer!

 

[tommyGunZ]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

He didnt go after anyone.

 

[timschochet]

Question- San Antonio is playing lights out ball right now. They've won 7 games in a row. They look great. Their bench looks great. They'll have home court through almost all of the playoffs. So why does nobody seem to give them much of a shot to win the whole thing? Why do the experts never mention them as the team to beat? It just seems like they are so disrespected....

 

[timschochet]

He's been suspended for a total of 2 games over the last 7 years

Artest got 7 games for domestic violence in 2007.He's very lucky Odom slowed Artest's running cheap shot at Barea in last year's playoffs - Barea would have been seriously injured otherwise. And Bynum would have had to pick on one of the ball boys in Game 4.

Even if you take out the Artest melee, Artest is still the

leader among his peers in number of suspension incidents, and who besides the repeat drug offenders have missed more games because of behavior?

This won't even the first of second time he's gotten suspended for injuring an opponent for a thrown elbow durIng a game.

All the off-court work he has done for mental health issues is wonderful. I'm not ignoring that. But I do think it's irrelevant to the punishment here. The concussion diagnosis for Harden, rightly or wrongly, makes it worse.

I don't know what the league will do. I think it will be dangerous to let Artest play in a playoff series against OKC, especially if Harden is out for the season. I don't know how much leeway Stern has here, and it's even more complicated because suspending a player during the postseason doesn't cost the player anything in salary but has a big opportunity cost to the team.

Players do get paid for the postseason, don't they?

 

[thecatch]

I will side with gunz to an extent - artest is a nice enough guy most of the time and I think he's good at heart. That said, he is legitimately crazy and when he is beating on fans and trying to take guys' heads off for no apparent reason on the court, you have to drop the hammer. You don't get graded on a curve when other people's health is at risk.

 

[oneohh]

Question- San Antonio is playing lights out ball right now. They've won 7 games in a row. They look great. Their bench looks great. They'll have home court through almost all of the playoffs. So why does nobody seem to give them much of a shot to win the whole thing? Why do the experts never mention them as the team to beat? It just seems like they are so disrespected....

1. They're so dependent upon Ginobili's health, and he's so injury prone that it just makes it a gamble to pick them for any legitimate run. (Second in this regard are the Lakers and Bynum, IMO). 2. They're soft in the middle. Now, Duncan has gone on record to say this is the deepest team he's ever been on and is playing as good of basketball as he has in maybe 5 years. I say they can give OKC a legitimate run for the West, but they might not last 5 games against the Heat.

 

[oneohh]

Again, I agree that he should be suspended, but Artest has been a role model the past few years and given away lots of $ for mental health issues.

I'm not sure why you're going on like this, unless you're just being a #### for the sake of being a ####, but he absolutely did.

 

[Pick]

Big week. Essentially a play-in game versus Phoenix on Tuesday for the Jazz. But if Jazz make the playoffs their 1st-rounder goes to Minnesota. However, if Golden State finishes better than 7th-worst Jazz get their pick.I think . . .

Though the GS pick was protected #1-#7.....how is Favors looking? Great move by Utah not getting used by Dwill and sucked into all the drama....guy wasnt all in - quick trigger with no input from him....and got a great haul. Nets have no choice but to kiss DWill's behind and hope he stays.

Yes, GS pick protected 1-7. I think they are currently 8th.Ya, that's the thing with being small market. You gotta know when to ship off the talent. Love Dwill but really no choice. Glad it has worked out. Jazz have a great frontcourt of Jefferson, Milsap, Favors, and Kantor. Hayward is a stud and low and behold Devin Harris has started to look like his old self. Best lineup by far is Favors, Jefferson, Milsap, Hayward, Harris. Favors is a beast.

 

[oneohh]

Big week. Essentially a play-in game versus Phoenix on Tuesday for the Jazz. But if Jazz make the playoffs their 1st-rounder goes to Minnesota. However, if Golden State finishes better than 7th-worst Jazz get their pick.I think . . .

Though the GS pick was protected #1-#7.....how is Favors looking? Great move by Utah not getting used by Dwill and sucked into all the drama....guy wasnt all in - quick trigger with no input from him....and got a great haul. Nets have no choice but to kiss DWill's behind and hope he stays.

Yes, GS pick protected 1-7. I think they are currently 8th.Ya, that's the thing with being small market. You gotta know when to ship off the talent. Love Dwill but really no choice. Glad it has worked out. Jazz have a great frontcourt of Jefferson, Milsap, Favors, and Kantor. Hayward is a stud and low and behold Devin Harris has started to look like his old self. Best lineup by far is Favors, Jefferson, Milsap, Hayward, Harris. Favors is a beast.

Did you in any way shape or form expect Hayward to be this good of a pro?

 

[Pick]

Big week. Essentially a play-in game versus Phoenix on Tuesday for the Jazz. But if Jazz make the playoffs their 1st-rounder goes to Minnesota. However, if Golden State finishes better than 7th-worst Jazz get their pick.I think . . .

Though the GS pick was protected #1-#7.....how is Favors looking? Great move by Utah not getting used by Dwill and sucked into all the drama....guy wasnt all in - quick trigger with no input from him....and got a great haul. Nets have no choice but to kiss DWill's behind and hope he stays.

Yes, GS pick protected 1-7. I think they are currently 8th.Ya, that's the thing with being small market. You gotta know when to ship off the talent. Love Dwill but really no choice. Glad it has worked out. Jazz have a great frontcourt of Jefferson, Milsap, Favors, and Kantor. Hayward is a stud and low and behold Devin Harris has started to look like his old self. Best lineup by far is Favors, Jefferson, Milsap, Hayward, Harris. Favors is a beast.

Did you in any way shape or form expect Hayward to be this good of a pro?

Kind of but it's more faith in O'Connor than anything else. I didn't expect Hayward to be so consistent so soon. Jazz are gonna have to break the bank on some of these young guys down the road.

 

[Raider Nation]

@ Clavin's subtitles.

 

[tommyGunZ]

None of it matters. He went after a guy, knew exactly what he was doing and has a list of priors a mile long. He screwed up big time - again - and will pay dearly - again.

He didnt go after anyone.

I'm not sure why you're going on like this, unless you're just being a #### for the sake of being a ####, but he absolutely did.

Are you talking about a different incident? B/c Artest was wrong, but one thing he did not do was "go after" anyone. Harden was playing tough guy and bumped Artest, and Artest threw an elbow without even looking.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Are you talking about a different incident? B/c Artest was wrong, but one thing he did not do was "go after" anyone. Harden was playing tough guy and bumped Artest, and Artest threw an elbow without even looking.

You're shticking us, right? Harden was moving towards the basket to receive the inbounds pass. He wasn't even looking at Artest - he was trying to get around him to start the next play. Artest reared back, cracked Harden in the head, followed through on his swing, and ran down the court as if he'd gotten a Quickening like those dudes from Highlander.You have got to be shticking us.

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone can watch this and conclude that Artest "went after" Harden. Harden was not trying to get around Artest - he put his arms up to brace for impact as he moved into Artest. Ron didn't even see Harden, he felt him, and then reared back and threw the elbow to clear Harden.Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, the ejection was warranted, and a 3-5 game suspension is warranted. I'm just disputing the "Artest went after Harden" claim from oneohh.

 

[Master of Past and Present]

Are you talking about a different incident? B/c Artest was wrong, but one thing he did not do was "go after" anyone. Harden was playing tough guy and bumped Artest, and Artest threw an elbow without even looking.

You're shticking us, right? Harden was moving towards the basket to receive the inbounds pass. He wasn't even looking at Artest - he was trying to get around him to start the next play. Artest reared back, cracked Harden in the head, followed through on his swing, and ran down the court as if he'd gotten a Quickening like those dudes from Highlander.You have got to be shticking us.

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone can watch this and conclude that Artest "went after" Harden. Harden was not trying to get around Artest - he put his arms up to brace for impact as he moved into Artest. Ron didn't even see Harden, he felt him, and then reared back and threw the elbow to clear Harden.Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, the ejection was warranted, and a 3-5 game suspension is warranted. I'm just disputing the "Artest went after Harden" claim from oneohh.

Not sure if on purpose or just how it opened but when I opened that link, it started on 53 seconds and from that point you could say it is hard to say he saw Harden. But, if you start at the beginning of the video and look at seconds 3-4, it is clear after he lands from the dunk that he turns and looks where Harden would be in his field of vision. I'm not sure how you watch the whole video and think he didn't measure him up. He dunks, upon landing he turns his body about 270 degrees during which Harden would be clearly visiable, then he cocks and unloads an elbow after he feels contact while not looking to produce an excuse why it should be an accident.

 

[Sea Duck]

Are you talking about a different incident? B/c Artest was wrong, but one thing he did not do was "go after" anyone. Harden was playing tough guy and bumped Artest, and Artest threw an elbow without even looking.

You're shticking us, right? Harden was moving towards the basket to receive the inbounds pass. He wasn't even looking at Artest - he was trying to get around him to start the next play. Artest reared back, cracked Harden in the head, followed through on his swing, and ran down the court as if he'd gotten a Quickening like those dudes from Highlander.You have got to be shticking us.

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone can watch this and conclude that Artest "went after" Harden.

You're right that Artest didn't go after Harden.Harden just happened to be an easy target.

Spray a crowd with bullets and you're just as much of a murderer as a sniper.

 

[Instinctive]

I'm of the opinion that Harden tries to get to Artest. And it works, but not in the way Harden expected, I expect. He clearly goes up to Artest and his left arm comes up and pushes...

Now, The ElbowTM is clearly not what is warranted. Way overdone, moronic, deserves suspension, in my mind, of the last game plus the first round. But the people making it out to be this evil intentional cheapshot to the head are coming off as morons, IMO. It was dirty, and he clearly meant to clear out Harden. But you can honestly believe he tried to knock him out upside the head.

You people need some ####### middle ground...

 

[Voice Of Reason]

Question- San Antonio is playing lights out ball right now. They've won 7 games in a row. They look great. Their bench looks great. They'll have home court through almost all of the playoffs. So why does nobody seem to give them much of a shot to win the whole thing? Why do the experts never mention them as the team to beat? It just seems like they are so disrespected....

They are a small market team who is perceived as being boring. Despite being the best offense in the league, they don't have anyone who is regularly going to make eye popping plays. Most people overlook them because the struggled vs Memphis last year. They are actually a really fun, uptempo team to watch and should probably be the favorites in the West.

 

[Popinski]

Here he is playing

Ok thanks for sharing that.

 

[oneohh]

I'm of the opinion that Harden tries to get to Artest. And it works, but not in the way Harden expected, I expect. He clearly goes up to Artest and his left arm comes up and pushes...

Now, The ElbowTM is clearly not what is warranted. Way overdone, moronic, deserves suspension, in my mind, of the last game plus the first round. But the people making it out to be this evil intentional cheapshot to the head are coming off as morons, IMO. It was dirty, and he clearly meant to clear out Harden. But you can honestly believe he tried to knock him out upside the head.

You people need some ####### middle ground...

Honestly what's the difference between 'evil intentional cheap shot' and 'dirty and ... clearly meant to clear out Harden?' Oh and once you earn the reputation Artest has you've pretty much burned up your ####### middle ground, guy.

 

[tommyGunZ]

I'm of the opinion that Harden tries to get to Artest. And it works, but not in the way Harden expected, I expect. He clearly goes up to Artest and his left arm comes up and pushes...

Now, The ElbowTM is clearly not what is warranted. Way overdone, moronic, deserves suspension, in my mind, of the last game plus the first round. But the people making it out to be this evil intentional cheapshot to the head are coming off as morons, IMO. It was dirty, and he clearly meant to clear out Harden. But you can honestly believe he tried to knock him out upside the head.

You people need some ####### middle ground...

Artest's forthcoming suspension is well deserved, as is the couple hundred K he'll forfeit in fines and/or games w/o pay. The elbow was egregious enough without folks trying to invent stuff that didn't happen, like Artest "going after" Harden.

 

[Abraham]

SAn Antonio being healthy for the first time entering the playoffs in 3 or 4 years is going to be a big deal. Plus the #8 seed this year (Utah) doesn't scare me as much as Memphis did last season for SA.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone can watch this and conclude that Artest "went after" Harden. Harden was not trying to get around Artest - he put his arms up to brace for impact as he moved into Artest. Ron didn't even see Harden, he felt him, and then reared back and threw the elbow to clear Harden.

Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, the ejection was warranted, and a 3-5 game suspension is warranted. I'm just disputing the "Artest went after Harden" claim from oneohh.

Artest didn't take a running start after Harden the way he took at running start for the cheap shot he gave Barea in last year's playoffs, sure. That seems like a minor point to contend, but thanks for giving us the opportunity to bring up Artest getting ejected from a playoff game last spring because of violence against an opponent in the same thread where you've tried to explain to us how Artest has cleaned up his act.Harden is heading towards the inbounder, then trying to start a curl pattern to receive the inbounds pass while turning upcourt. Watch Harden's head and eyes - he's trying to connect with the inbounder right around when Artest hits the ground after his dunk.

It's already been brought up, Maverick. It was one of the 2 games Artest has been suspended for due to an on court incident over the last 7 seasons. Put another way, Artest has almost as many NBA citizen of the year awards as games missed due to suspensions from on court incidents over those 7 years. You can't see the change from '99-'04 and '05-'12? Again, no one is claiming he's innocent here, but the idea that he's still the immature fool from his Chi/Indiana days is just plain false.

 

[This_Guy]

BTW, Durant is up in the scoring title race 27.90 to Kobe's 27.86. OKC has two games left and LAL has one. If Durant scores a total of 50 points in his last two games, Kobe will need to score 54 points to win the scoring title.If Durant scores his season average the rest of way, Kobe will need 59 in his finale to win the scoring title.If Durant averages 30 over his last two games, Kobe will need 64 in his last game to win the scoring title.Expect something out of the Thompson/Gervin/Robinson playbook for Kobe on Thursday.

I may be missing something but I think you are high on the Kobe numbers here. Since the scoring title is per game average Kobe doesn't need to outscore Durant's 2 game total in his 1 remaining game. I actually think it works out more like this:If Durant scores a total of 50 points in his last two games, Kobe will need to score 26 points to win the scoring title.If Durant scores his season average the rest of way, Kobe will need 31 in his finale to win the scoring title.If Durant averages 30 over his last two games, Kobe will need 35 in his last game to win the scoring title.Either way I agree that Kobe will be taking all the shots until he has the title on Thursday.

 

[Short Corner]

Either way I agree that Kobe will be taking all the shots until he has the title on Thursday.

In other words, your standard Laker game.

 

[bigbottom]

Maybe it's been a while since I've played ball, but who clears out another player by rearing back and throwing an elbow above shoulder level?

 

[oneohh]

I'm of the opinion that Harden tries to get to Artest. And it works, but not in the way Harden expected, I expect. He clearly goes up to Artest and his left arm comes up and pushes...

Now, The ElbowTM is clearly not what is warranted. Way overdone, moronic, deserves suspension, in my mind, of the last game plus the first round. But the people making it out to be this evil intentional cheapshot to the head are coming off as morons, IMO. It was dirty, and he clearly meant to clear out Harden. But you can honestly believe he tried to knock him out upside the head.

You people need some ####### middle ground...

Artest's forthcoming suspension is well deserved, as is the couple hundred K he'll forfeit in fines and/or games w/o pay. The elbow was egregious enough without folks trying to invent stuff that didn't happen, like Artest "going after" Harden.

You are obviously free to your own delusional and pathetic opinion, but what I saw was a crazy man looking for a head to knock off. No accident. No remorse. But a full follow through and then a square off without so much as a visible change in attitude or facial expression. He went after the nearest blue jersey plain as day.

 

[TobiasFunke]

In non-Laker news, Wiz are apparently gonna give Ernie Grunfeld an extension. Like most Wiz fans I wanted him gone, but this column from a Post guy who is usually my least favorite columnist changed my mind. I think he's right, the good moves outweigh the bad ones. The Wiz were supposed to suck last year and this year, and they're in a decent position to turn it around starting in 2012-13.

 

[Gr00vus]

Question- San Antonio is playing lights out ball right now. They've won 7 games in a row. They look great. Their bench looks great. They'll have home court through almost all of the playoffs. So why does nobody seem to give them much of a shot to win the whole thing? Why do the experts never mention them as the team to beat? It just seems like they are so disrespected....

They are a small market team who is perceived as being boring. Despite being the best offense in the league, they don't have anyone who is regularly going to make eye popping plays. Most people overlook them because the struggled vs Memphis last year. They are actually a really fun, uptempo team to watch and should probably be the favorites in the West.

I think there's also a (mis)perception that they're old. Granted Duncan, Parker and Ginobli are old in NBA years, but the rest of the squad is pretty fresh. In addition, one of their main selling points is depth, which generally counts for less in the playoffs, and definitely counted for more than usual in this compressed season. I think there's a feeling that we've seen this show before recently with the Spurs and we know how it ends. Could be different this year, but I still think OKC is best in the West and that Memphis or the Lakers could take out S.A. if they met in the playoffs.

 

[EYLive]

 

[oneohh]

Question- San Antonio is playing lights out ball right now. They've won 7 games in a row. They look great. Their bench looks great. They'll have home court through almost all of the playoffs. So why does nobody seem to give them much of a shot to win the whole thing? Why do the experts never mention them as the team to beat? It just seems like they are so disrespected....

They are a small market team who is perceived as being boring. Despite being the best offense in the league, they don't have anyone who is regularly going to make eye popping plays. Most people overlook them because the struggled vs Memphis last year. They are actually a really fun, uptempo team to watch and should probably be the favorites in the West.

I think there's also a (mis)perception that they're old. Granted Duncan, Parker and Ginobli are old in NBA years, but the rest of the squad is pretty fresh. In addition, one of their main selling points is depth, which generally counts for less in the playoffs, and definitely counted for more than usual in this compressed season. I think there's a feeling that we've seen this show before recently with the Spurs and we know how it ends. Could be different this year, but I still think OKC is best in the West and that Memphis or the Lakers could take out S.A. if they met in the playoffs.

Do you think either Memphis or LA could beat OKC?

 

[Moe.]

Question- San Antonio is playing lights out ball right now. They've won 7 games in a row. They look great. Their bench looks great. They'll have home court through almost all of the playoffs. So why does nobody seem to give them much of a shot to win the whole thing? Why do the experts never mention them as the team to beat? It just seems like they are so disrespected....

They are a small market team who is perceived as being boring. Despite being the best offense in the league, they don't have anyone who is regularly going to make eye popping plays. Most people overlook them because the struggled vs Memphis last year. They are actually a really fun, uptempo team to watch and should probably be the favorites in the West.

I think there's also a (mis)perception that they're old. Granted Duncan, Parker and Ginobli are old in NBA years, but the rest of the squad is pretty fresh. In addition, one of their main selling points is depth, which generally counts for less in the playoffs, and definitely counted for more than usual in this compressed season. I think there's a feeling that we've seen this show before recently with the Spurs and we know how it ends. Could be different this year, but I still think OKC is best in the West and that Memphis or the Lakers could take out S.A. if they met in the playoffs.

Do you think either Memphis or LA could beat OKC?

Of course they can. The West is a hot mess, everyone should be prepared for just about anything to happen. Only thing that would truly surprise me is the Spurs losing in round 1.

 

[B-Deep]

Are you talking about a different incident? B/c Artest was wrong, but one thing he did not do was "go after" anyone. Harden was playing tough guy and bumped Artest, and Artest threw an elbow without even looking.

You're shticking us, right? Harden was moving towards the basket to receive the inbounds pass. He wasn't even looking at Artest - he was trying to get around him to start the next play. Artest reared back, cracked Harden in the head, followed through on his swing, and ran down the court as if he'd gotten a Quickening like those dudes from Highlander.You have got to be shticking us.

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone can watch this and conclude that Artest "went after" Harden. Harden was not trying to get around Artest - he put his arms up to brace for impact as he moved into Artest. Ron didn't even see Harden, he felt him, and then reared back and threw the elbow to clear Harden.Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, the ejection was warranted, and a 3-5 game suspension is warranted. I'm just disputing the "Artest went after Harden" claim from oneohh.

Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, but here are my excuses...

 

[drpill]

Question- San Antonio is playing lights out ball right now. They've won 7 games in a row. They look great. Their bench looks great. They'll have home court through almost all of the playoffs. So why does nobody seem to give them much of a shot to win the whole thing? Why do the experts never mention them as the team to beat? It just seems like they are so disrespected....

They are a small market team who is perceived as being boring. Despite being the best offense in the league, they don't have anyone who is regularly going to make eye popping plays. Most people overlook them because the struggled vs Memphis last year. They are actually a really fun, uptempo team to watch and should probably be the favorites in the West.

I think there's also a (mis)perception that they're old. Granted Duncan, Parker and Ginobli are old in NBA years, but the rest of the squad is pretty fresh. In addition, one of their main selling points is depth, which generally counts for less in the playoffs, and definitely counted for more than usual in this compressed season. I think there's a feeling that we've seen this show before recently with the Spurs and we know how it ends. Could be different this year, but I still think OKC is best in the West and that Memphis or the Lakers could take out S.A. if they met in the playoffs.

This is a reasonable assessment, but this team is a lot different from the squad that got booted by Memphis last season. - healthy Manu Ginobili (fingers crossed)- Tim Duncan is playing at a much higher level than he has the past couple of seasons- weak-willed Richard Jefferson has been replaced by a fearless and focused Steven Jackson- Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and Tiago Splitter are contributing at a consistently high level- Boris Diaw adds frontcourt depth and minimizes the need to put Dejuan Blair out there against tall lineupsThe Spurs' chemistry and confidence is much higher than it has been in recent memory, and now that Splitter and Diaw are key parts of the rotation their height disadvantage has been minimized. They may still struggle against teams with two dominant bigs but the last couple of games vs. the Lakers show they seem to have figured that out. They have had lots of success against OKC this year as well. I look for Pop to use a longer bench than most teams in the playoffs (10 deep, perhaps), as he's done it before with success, and too many players are making valuable contributions to shorten the roster much more than that. Probably Blair and Patty Mills will be the odd men out.It still remains to be seen if an offensively-focused team like this one can have much success in the playoffs. That's my biggest concern. The defense is okay, but not at all great. They rely on their offensive officiency to beat teams and that is a far cry from how they've won their championships in the past. They're also turning the ball over a bit more than I'd like and those two factors could be their undoing.

 

[simmonjm]

LOL

"Biyombo told me, 'This is my house,'" Gay said after the Grizz beat the Bobcats 85-80 late last week. "I told him, 'You have seven wins. It's everybody's house.'"

 

[tommyGunZ]

LOL"Biyombo told me, 'This is my house,'" Gay said after the Grizz beat the Bobcats 85-80 late last week. "I told him, 'You have seven wins. It's everybody's house.'"

 

[sho nuff]

Are you talking about a different incident? B/c Artest was wrong, but one thing he did not do was "go after" anyone. Harden was playing tough guy and bumped Artest, and Artest threw an elbow without even looking.

You're shticking us, right? Harden was moving towards the basket to receive the inbounds pass. He wasn't even looking at Artest - he was trying to get around him to start the next play. Artest reared back, cracked Harden in the head, followed through on his swing, and ran down the court as if he'd gotten a Quickening like those dudes from Highlander.You have got to be shticking us.

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone can watch this and conclude that Artest "went after" Harden. Harden was not trying to get around Artest - he put his arms up to brace for impact as he moved into Artest. Ron didn't even see Harden, he felt him, and then reared back and threw the elbow to clear Harden.Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, the ejection was warranted, and a 3-5 game suspension is warranted. I'm just disputing the "Artest went after Harden" claim from oneohh.

Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, but here are my excuses...

And still a huge LOL at throwing an elbow with that kind of force to clear someone.

 

[oneohh]

Are you talking about a different incident? B/c Artest was wrong, but one thing he did not do was "go after" anyone. Harden was playing tough guy and bumped Artest, and Artest threw an elbow without even looking.

You're shticking us, right? Harden was moving towards the basket to receive the inbounds pass. He wasn't even looking at Artest - he was trying to get around him to start the next play. Artest reared back, cracked Harden in the head, followed through on his swing, and ran down the court as if he'd gotten a Quickening like those dudes from Highlander.You have got to be shticking us.

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone can watch this and conclude that Artest "went after" Harden. Harden was not trying to get around Artest - he put his arms up to brace for impact as he moved into Artest. Ron didn't even see Harden, he felt him, and then reared back and threw the elbow to clear Harden.Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, the ejection was warranted, and a 3-5 game suspension is warranted. I'm just disputing the "Artest went after Harden" claim from oneohh.

Don't get me wrong, I think Artest's action was inexcusable, but here are my excuses...

And still a huge LOL at throwing an elbow with that kind of force to clear someone.

No, no, no, no...you don't understand... he won the citizenship award last year.