OK, i know based on the doctrine it is technically a flagrant foul, but seriously why is the game going this way? Players are essentially getting paid millions of dollars to do running and shooting drills, at least thats the way it's going to be. I know Tmac would be really happy about that, but I think that just stinks. I wanna ask everyone here, should the game really become this soft? People want West to be suspended for multiple games for this love tap. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/h7sovyb4Cpg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/h7sovyb4Cpg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
At full speed it looked pretty bad because Miller was running full out and went flying. Then on the replay it looked clear to me that West realized he couldn't make a play on the ball and decided to take a shot at Miller instead. From the original angle, it looked a lot like a punch in real-time. So all in all, it looked like an ejection worthy foul to me. Nothing deserving of a suspension though.
you call that a love tap? he swung at millers head/neck from BEHIND when there is no way for miller to defend himself. that is a very dangerous move. i think he is lucky that nothing major happened to miller heck i find this move to be a whole lot more dangerous than bynum's foul on wallace. bynum made a play that he shouldnt have made but he was trying to rotate into position but did it the wrong way. west just swung at millers head/neck west is a great player and its great to see how he has worked hard to get where he is out today, but i have never like his demeanor on the court he acts like a punk. in my book he should get 1-2 games would have been much longer if miller had gotten hurt
By the way, you made the first poll option too extreme. I don't think it was ridiculously hard, but it was definitely a flagrant in my eyes.
Seems like a frustration foul. There are other ways to foul him instead of swipping at his head. I would argue with a 1 game suspension/
I was going to mention this. If you look at the beginning of the video, you'll see that West makes a move and loses the ball, but thinks he got fouled. From that point it looks like he locks in on Miller and then unloads on him as he passes. Probably didn't help that they were losing by 5 at home to the TWolves.
It was. He didn't want to hit the ball, he knew he is gonna take Miller to the floor. It was a good call, but suspention? I am not sure about that.
an axe weilding forearm to the back of the head is not just a love tap. a one game suspension is justifiable.
I agree with hard. I disagree with ridiculously hard. That's all I'm saying. This wasn't McHale vs. Rambis.
He should definitely be suspended. Somebody needs to take the same cheap shot at Chris Paul and then see how David West likes it.
Suspend him, he went for the neck and head, no play on the ball, dirty play.....sit him for 2 games. DD
Bynum should have been suspended but no suspensions for this one. It looks bad in real time and the refs made the right call at the time. If you watch the slo-mo closely from 35secs in you'll notice Miller's right foot while in stride actually catches West's left heel. Miller does react to the slap down but it's more like he's surprised. When he goes flying it's because of the accidental trip.
Flagrant? For sure. There was no attempt on the ball, and he whacked him pretty good. Suspension? No way. It was a frustration foul, and from the looks of it, no real malicious intent. This warrants an ejection and nothing else.
What's funny is that I bet the only "no" in the poll was from the OP. Thread backfire initiated. Nearing completion.
Well the thread derailed after the first post. I wasn't asking if it was a flagrant foul, I was asking if it it should be a flagrant foul, that is, are the rules fitting. Personally I don't think they are, but if it's what the people want so be it. More than anything it was a critique of the game, the play in question was just evidence, but meh in the grand scheme of things.
David West seems like a jerk to me. Even when he plays the Rockets, he tries to intimidate our players.
I understand. But I have to ask...what should be the punishment for a guy swinging at a defenseless player's neck/head area like West did in this instance? Surely that can't be treated as a standard personal foul or it would happen every 5 minutes. As I said, I'm not sure this warrants a suspension (though others obviously do) but it pretty much exemplifies exactly what should be considered "flagrant" in my opinion.