ESPN: Artest suspended for Game 2

Bullsh1t, I didn't know Boston are such cheap busters.

 

You know, the only reason anybody probably even noticed is because damn ESPN had to show a clip of him walking out onto the court during the game. They went on to say how he had "changed" from last season, since he turned around and went back to the bench.

That is a very cheap suspension by the NBA, being a playoff series.

 

The NBA is harsh on people leaving the bench during a "fight" or confrontation. They want to prevent another Kermit/Rudy T situation. The rules are the rules, and he broke them. It might seem harsh, but I believe he should sit.

 

They were picking on Artest, just because he has a long record of violations.

Does anybody remember what penalty NBA gave Fox last year? In a preseason game against Kings, he was tossed out of the game for fighting, and WENT ALL THE WAY TO KINGS SIDE THRU TENNEL FOR AN AMBUSH! If leaving the bench for 5 sec gets suspension for a game, what Fox did should have got him suspended for a season.

Also, what is the rule when a fan steps on the court during games? That #1 Faker fan does it all the time, but I have never seen him tossed out once.

NBA needs to enforced rules consistently, but they don't.

 

I know what you're saying, but it's not the same thing. What Fox did was very wrong, and the league wimped out of punishing him, but Artest broke a clearly defined rule, which has been enforced on multiple occasions.

He knew himself the consequences of what he was doing, he said that he realised that he shouldn't be leaving the bench and sat down again.

The fan is a totally different case. I don't know what the rules are for fans impinging on the court, but I would imagine ejection from the arena would be appropriate.

 

It is not about Ron Artest, the NBA has always been very firm about this. Remember the Heat-NY game 7 like 5 years ago with 4 or 5 players suspended from the previous game--most of which for leaving the bench whether they made contact with opponents or not.

 

I've just dug out my copy of The Punch, by John Feinstein (an excellent book by the way). On pages 86-87:

Bearing that statement in mind, there was no way that Artest was going to escape punishment.

 

Supposedly there was a somewhat similar situation in the NJ/Knicks game. I didnt see it, but reading the NY times today I read about Richard Jefferson stepping onto the court when Frank Williams pushed Jason Kidd.

Seems liek this suspension may be related to Artest's Reputation

If the NBA gives artest this suspension, they should suspend RJ too. However, RJ has officially been cleared. While I didnt see RJ's infraction, I saw artest, and there was clearly no intent. While this is fine Rules are Rules, then you should suspend Richard Jefferson 1 game too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/19/sports/basketball/19NETS.html?pagewanted=print&position=

i will as\lso paste the article below

April 19, 2004
Jefferson Is Not Suspended, Nor Are Hostilities
By STEVE POPPER

AST RUTHERFORD, N.J., April 18 — One advantage of the Nets-Knicks rivalry is the short ride from the N.B.A. offices to the games.

With tickets still available for Game 2 of the first-round playoff series at Continental Arena on Tuesday night, Stu Jackson, the league's senior vice president for basketball operations, may want to make the ride to watch in person.

Nets forward Richard Jefferson, who jumped off the bench when Frank Williams shoved Jason Kidd in Game 1 on Saturday, issued an "I told you so" on Sunday, saying that Jackson had ruled that he would not be suspended. After reviewing the tape, Jackson found that Jefferson did not leave the bench area. The decision may be a further irritant for the Knicks, who grumbled that a physical tone had been set in their 107-83 loss in Game 1 and would be met with a stronger response in Game 2.

The Knicks, buried by an assortment of acrobatic dunks, were unhappy that Tim Thomas was sent flying to the floor on a hard foul by the Nets' Jason Collins in the fourth quarter and was taken out of the arena strapped to a stretcher.

Isiah Thomas, the Knicks' president, and Coach Lenny Wilkens said the team was too passive. Shandon Anderson suggested that the Knicks return the favor.

The Nets did not seem to mind the Knicks' talk. In fact, with the Knicks providing little impediment with their play, the Nets seemed to welcome the pending escalation of the rivalry as a way to keep their focus.

"There ain't no telling what's going to go on Tuesday," Nets forward Kenyon Martin said of the possible retaliation. "Tim Thomas drove. Jason, he fouled him, and it was an awkward foul. But he wasn't trying to hurt him or anything like that.

"I'm not going to let no one on my team just take nothing unnecessary. I'm not going to get kicked out of the game at the same time.

"As long as it's not anything dirty that they're trying to take somebody out on purpose, that's fine. Me, you foul me, I'm not going to get the worst of it, bottom line."

Kidd, the Nets' All-Star point guard, said: "If they want to, that's on them. We're out there to play basketball. It isn't about who's going to take a shot at who. This is basketball. This isn't boxing.

"You just hope that Tim is all right. He wasn't trying to hurt him."

The Nets tried to dismiss the notion that there was anything to retaliate for. Even most of the Knicks said Collins's foul, as ugly as it turned out, was clean. Kidd shrugged off the idea that any messages were sent or that bad feelings would linger because of the technical foul he drew for taunting Williams, a reserve guard.

Jefferson was shooting on the Nets' practice court on Sunday when Kidd walked on for his interview session. Before he could say a word, Jefferson playfully shouted: "Jay, I'm playing, I'm playing. I'm not suspended."

Jefferson insisted that he was never worried that he would be suspended, saying that the Kidd-Williams confrontation was not a fight and that he had not left the bench.

"You step up for a reaction," he said. "It's not like I ran out on the floor. I stood up for a reaction and my foot touched the floor."

At Knicks practice, Isiah Thomas said he believed Jefferson should have been suspended. "If you're going by the letter of the rule, yeah," he said. "But I guess that's not how it's being judged today."

The Nets did not seem interested in the Knicks' opinions.

"People trash-talk; we haven't said anything," Martin said. "Whatever went on in Game 1, if people let it carry over, that's fine, man. But the guys in this locker room, we have a lot of character and we know how to play basketball and we know how to win. We're just going to go out and do that."

 

This is a dumb suspension because it's a dumb rule. Unless the player is going after someone, he shouldn't be punished.

 

Well you never can tell with Artest but I think it is a good rule because players could come off the bench as peacekeepers then get pushed, shoved, or worse and then BAM!!! they're in the middle of things as well.

 

Well, if the NBA is going to be so strict in enforcing these so called "rules", how about enforcing the "2 hands on the back = defensive foul" rule?

 

You can tell with Artest because he turned around. I love how the NBA acts like it's being so strict with this rule when they are so subjective on everything else...traveling, carrying, lane violations, hand checks, 3 seconds, leaving the bench, EVERYTHING.

 

No they weren't. Half the Knicks team got suspended for the same thing in one of those late-90s Miami series. Brian Shaw got suspended in the 2000 WCFs for stepping no more than 3 feet on the court during what wasn't even a fight.

That's melodramatic, but the real issue there was that the entire Kings bench, Shaq (in street clothes) and some of the Lakers bench left their benches to go to the tunnel area. Stu Jackson somehow construed the tunnel area as the bench area. In other words, the Kings bench crossed the entire length of the floor to participate, yet no one was suspended. How contradictory is that? That kind of decision makes you wonder if Stu Jackson is r****ded.

He doesn't do it during play, but it's up to the security's discretion. He won't be ejected. He's a front row season ticket holder. The Laker org would not eject that guy unless he really did something stupid.

No. They ARE consistently anal-retentive as far as what Artest did. Everytime someone doesn't think before stepping on the court, the league suspends them. Whenever someone does something SEVERE, the league office THEN becomes arbitrary in their decision-making.

 

Like it matters to the Pacers to not have Ron Artest for 1 game against the Celtics? Maybe if Pierce goes off for 30+ and carries his team to victory then maybe.

 

Artest comes out of this looking good and Al Harrington gets to play. Big whup.

 

This is BS...Nuff Said...

 

As a Pacers fan I'd like to have Ron available, but...

the rules state he should be suspended a game. I have no problem with that. I do have a problem with Richard Jefferson doing the exact same thing and getting nothing. The only difference seems to be that Artest took about 4 steps and Jeffereson took about 3.

Oh, and David Stern's biddy Rod Thorn is GM of the Nets.

The only other gripe I have is that Brandon Hunter of the Celtics didn't get a fine. He obviously came into the game to get in Jermaine O'Neal's head and partially succeeded indirectly, by getting Artest suspended.

Good job for a scrub who played 6 minutes. Eliminate an all-star or two.