So you can't make a play on the ball when the offensive player is in front of you? Albeit, Wade didn't exactly jump like he was completely trying to make a clean play on the ball, but there's no way that would have been a flagrant call in a real game. He had enough hand on the ball for it to be a regular hard foul. As far as the physicalness, at that point in the 4th quarter, it was pretty much already past the show-and-go part of the game. Kobe probably didn't expect Wade to take a foul in that situation, but he definitely wasn't in a nonchalant mode.
That's in 3rd quarter and there's absolutely no intensity, there were at least a dozen dunks in that quarter. You can't even get the fact straight.
Kobe had 2 fouls the entire game, 1 of them was offensive foul. And of course you have to talk about these phantom fouls. It wasn't like Wade and LBJ was missing dunks all night long, I don't know where these not-called-fouls that prevented dunks came from. Cut your crap.
I am not trying to argue whether that's a flagrant. But you are not supposed to do hard foul intentionally in all-star game, as Wade admitted. And he didn't regret at all. The commenter said "first flagrant in ASG maybe" for a reason, this is not expected.
Its a flagrant by definition since he didn't go for the ball, but he did go for Kobe's arms to keep him from hoisting his arms up and to keep him grounded. He did not try to hurt him....
you mean one of the most overrated players of all time? and just dissapears in his corner and shoots 3's? What has battier done to deserve one? Just because he's a nice guy?
I agree; Wade didn't get the ball, nor go for it. He's chopping down on Kobe's shoulder and arms and got his nose in the process. But, chop blocking a guys arms to prevent him from leaving the ground and getting a shot off isn't necessarily a flagrant. The technical wording in the rule book is it has to be "unnecessary" contact. There is no wording about going for the ball. Wrapping someone up from behind is common and necessary to prevent a shot. Wade came down hard on his shoulder and arms enough to keep Kobe on the ground, so maybe that was unnecessary force, but Kobe is known to break through tentative attempts at wrapping him up.
Iunno why people are defending Wade That was entirely unnecessary given the mood of the game at the time. You dont foul like that from behind all of a sudden when people are flying all over the place dunking all night long.
Wade wanted to stop Kobe from making a highlight play on him. In other situations you can't do that with alley-oops since you don't want to knock players in mid-air for fear that they will get hurt. Even in an all-star game nobody wants to get shown up dude.
I'm curious if Howard was going to attempt the block. That's the only thing that really sucks about Wade jumping on Kobe. Howard was in perfect position to block Kobe's dunk attempt...and Kobe could have double clutched for a reverse layup. So many possibilities on the Howard / Kobe match-up and freaking Wade had to rob us of a highlight moment.
Made a play on Kobe's nose. You don't want to get dunked on? Move out of the way. Did you see Lu Deng earlier in the game? Saw Blake Griffin coming, ran into the first row.