That time it was intentional, and now I think the one against Manu was too. Who the hell swings their hands like that after they shoot?
Nobody. A guy with correct shooting form like Kobe is going to follow through on the shot and keep his arm straight. Swinging out his arm like that goes against a fundamental shooting mechanic. There's not doubt in my mind that it was intentional.
kobe is clearly evil and must be stopped. look at this damning testimony from the guy he hit. i don't quite understand how y'all are all so stupid or ignorant. even the guy that got hit in the face knows what he was doing. can y'all really not figure it out? he's been flailing his arms out for years to try and draw a foul. other players do it as well. possibly not so dramatically, but they do. usually when someone strips/blocks you, they're in front of you so when it happens kobe just hits air with his arms and no one notices. manu and jaric got him from the side, so his flail made his arm hit them in the face. are y'all really that dense that you're asking "who swings their hands like that" as if can't notice it only happens on blocks/strips? did you just start watching the nba yesterday? maybe he should be punished, maybe he shouldn't, but that y'all can't figure out why it's happening or that you think he's intentionally hitting them in the face (when neither guy it happened to thought it was) just seems amazing. we've seen deke elbow tons of people, far more than kobe, do you think it was all intentional as well and that he's a dirty player? considering kobe's been doing it long enough that it's probably just instinct, it's probably going to be a hard habit to break. people always flail their arms when stripped on the way up, it just doesn't result in this. the threat of a suspension is hard to think about in the split second you make the motion.
It was clearly intentional. I can't stand the guy (too bad I had to trade Lebron for him on my fantasy team because Lebron's sucky FT shooting was ruining my team ).
Give me a break f4p. You can honestly look at this video and say that it's just poor misunderstood kobe: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mqqEsZrdQ9Q"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mqqEsZrdQ9Q" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> He practically cocks his arm back before striking manu. As for guys who flail their arms on strips and whatnot, you might lose control on the way up, but once you've followed through with your shot there's no way you'd instinctively swing your arms out. Like when's the last time somebody got blocked straight ahead but followed through by flailing their arms out to the sides for whatever reason. And if you're trying to draw a foul, wouldn't it make more sense to exaggerate and move your arm away from the contact and not right back at the defender. In any situation when you're trying to draw a foul, you'll take the contact but then flop back the other way. You don't retaliate against the force in order to draw a foul call.
francis 4 prez, you need to cool it on the name-calling. Since everyone here is stupid and ignorant except you, why waste your time discussing it? Whether they think it's intentional or not, you can almost expect the other player to publicly support Kobe's innocence of intent. Rarely do NBA players call out other players unless there is no shadow of a doubt. Perhaps it's you who are stupid and ignorant for not realizing that. Do you really think for one minute that the Spurs have shrugged off what Kobe did? If so, I've got a bridge to sell you. Fact is, the Spurs have a specialist named Bruce Bowen and they would be hypocritical to point the finger at Kobe for that incident. It's one thing to flail, but when a blow of such force is delivered twice in a relatively short period of time the NBA has to act. Can you understand it was the FORCE OF THE BLOWS that made the NBA act? IMO, it's "stupid" and "ignorant" not to understand that. When it comes to Kobe's intent, as Stu Jackson said, I'm not in the business of reading players' minds, I'm simply evaluating the play as a basketball play, and when you take a shot and follow through, followed by driving an arm back in an aggressive manner that strikes a defender in his face, that's what we evaluated to be a non-acceptable play. If Kobe flicked a guy in the face with his finger, then OK, but that isn't what happened. Nobody can read Kobe's mind but that isn't the point of these particular suspensions.
So much for the 'accidental swing' argument the last time around... Seriously though, it's nothing more than frustration on the part of Kobe. He got frustrated when Manu blocked his shot, so he decided to clock him in the face; same thing last night with Jaric. Kobe is frustrated with his team's free-fall as of late, I think he's feeling helpless and hopeless about rescuing his team from a late season meltdown, which is where they seem to be heading now. I just hope the Lakers squeeze into the playoffs somehow. As a die hard basketball fan, I love watching big time players playing on the league's biggest stage. I just can't help but get excited about the prospect of watching Kobe explode on the Spurs or the Suns and somehow us interested in an series that wasn't even supposed to be close; or Wade doing his magic against seemingly overwhelming odds. I hope Wade is healthy and playing at his best when the playoffs roll around. Meanwhile, Shaq is good enough and great enough to carry Miami into the playoffs, but then he will need Wade to be taken seriously against the top teams.
Perhaps the swing was not accidental, but the contact was? That's all that happened, Kobe was trying to draw contact but ended up clocking the guy. An intentional swing, unintentional hit.
Funny because I've seen Kobe shoots hundreds of jumpers for years and this is the FIRST season that he has done this. This is intentional plain and simple. I don't think he is a dirty player, but what a coincidence it has happened TWICE in the same season. Deke is a good guy, always has been, he would never hurt someone on purpose. His elbows are just big and sharp, but he doesn't swing them around when he shoots. Kobe is just pissed when he loses so he has to take out his frustration on the guy guarding him. Why doesnt he hit them in the chest? or the arm?
It's not intentional. But I think he deserves to be punished for it. The move is essentially a flop -- he flails his arms hoping to get a call from the refs. Basically, the league is saying that if you're going to flop, you pay the consequences if that flop results in making contact with another persons face. You can't make the excuse, "I didn't mean to hit him. His face just got in the way of my flop!" I just have to roll my eyes at that argument.
I don't like this move either, even as a Laker fan. But I still think a suspension is too harsh. A tech or flagrant is fair enough.
If they weren't very hard fist shots to someone's face, then yes. And twice within a month is just too much. The suspensions are also a message.
The way Kobe swing his arm, he could "accidently" break Jaric eyeballs if he hit his eyes! Kobe deserved the suspension. Imagine if he hit T-mac or Yao in the face, what are you gonna said, lakers fan?
LOL, I felt bad for Kobe last time because I gave him the benefit of the doubt...but the fact that the exact same thing happened this time...dude needs to get more than 1 game. Thats just dirty.
It is as not intentional as Malone's knee to the groin on his drives and his elbows to the chops on the rebounds. Malone always claimed it was his game, but it was clearly a part of his game designed to intimidate opponents, create space, and keep defenders away from him. That's not legal. You have to burn the defender with a bucket, not knee or elbow. Karl should have suffered the same punishment that Kobe got and it should get progressively stiffer until Kobe understands that you can't play that way. By the same token, the stupid refs need to call fouls on contact after the shot is away to get it right and help guys keep from resorting to such idiocy as hammering each other to get a call.
This is true he should pay attention more to hitting players in the chest and arm instead of just looking at the ball. It's crazy that kobe can calculate hitting someone in the face in less than a second all the while keeping his eyes on the ball in the air, he's the master of cheapshot.
some people hate kobe bryant way too much. the arm flail that he does after the shot is a veteran trick that some players do when they want to act as if they've been fouled. kobe's been doing it for years, and now when he accidentally hits people because of it, he's a cheap shot artist? give me a break. just because he hits two people doesn't automatically make him a dirty player who's out to get guys with his frightening elbows. it's basketball, people are going to get hit with the occasional stray elbow. just ask deke's victims.
I agree- I hope for the NBA that the Lakers do make the playoffs. It is good for fans and basketball if the big time teams/ players participate. D Wade was phenomenal last season - playoffs- makes many people watch NBA ball. I could care less about Kobe personally, but if the Lakers could upset SA or Phoenix that would be cool. Thank you Dikembe Mutombo for your Denver Nuggets at 8th seed in '94 upsetting the #1 seed Sonics. I've never seen the "glove" so upset. Cool - heroic things happen sometimes.....
