When he lept in the air, he had a change of blocking the shot. It seemed like they both left the floor at the same time. But as Ford floated to the other side of the basket, Horford's downward motion missed the ball. At the last split second, I think he might have been going for Ford's arm. Not smart, given that Ford was in a vulnerable position and is slight of build. It was a reckless play, but not a malicious one. He was given a flagrant-2, and he was ejected. I think the punishment should be given based on the nature of the play, and not the extent of the injury. I just don't think a player should be suspended for a game for attempting a basketball play without malicious intent. Contrast this with Kobe a season ago, when on a couple different occasions he flopped wildly and wacked a player in the face. My view then was that a suspension was warranted, because he wasn't even attempting a legitimate basketball play.
I'll agree w/ this one too. Although if Horford was suspended, I wouldn't debate it. In no way do I believe Horford was malicious, but due to the severity of the results I don't have problem w/ it. If the message needs to be sent on the consequences of a high risk defensive play, so be it. I might be a homer here, but at Florida the championship team was a group of upstanding guys who never ran into any trouble. I would definitely put Horford on the 'Mr. Nice Guy' list of NBA players. And I'm talking about the same level as 'Yao' niceness.
Agree completely. The intent shouldn't be the only consideration when determining punishment. I just don't buy the argument Horford was still going after the ball or arm when he drilled T.J. in the face. Even if the intent wasn't malicious, Horford getting suspended for being stupid is fine with me. That was REALLY poor judgment.
ford is rejoining the team today and has been medically cleared...they are saying he probably won't play tonight, but 'anything can happen'. wow....that was a quick turnaround.
To all of you who are saying TJ Ford is a p***y and it wasn't even a hard foul: Watching the video in slow motion and postulating that "in the '80's it would have been a touch foul" is no substitute for ever playing a real sport. I want you to go run down a court at full speed and jump in the air. Then, while you're in the air, have a friend pull "gently" on the top of your head. I guarantee you'll hit the ground real quick, and real hard. If you've ever trained martial arts or wrestling you would know that even while someone is standing, it's easy as hell to take them to the ground by controlling their head. When someone's in the air and not prepared for the contact, it's even easier. TJ was going for the reverse - he jumped and was leaning backwards so he could accurately put the ball in the hoop. Any player in this situation - yes, even "tough" players, could easily be taken to the ground and given a concussion. Bunch of armchair tough guys.
First off, that would not have been a "touch foul" in the 80s. It would have been a flagrant and it also would have sparked a brawl between both teams. Big men are not supposed to "face slam" guys half their size who are in a vulnerable position. That isn't explicitly stated in the rules...it is common sense and human decency. I think most of the people talking about what was and was not a foul in the 80s were not even watching basketball then. Second, it is complete BS to say that was an accident or that his motion carried through or whatever the excuse is for a guy who knew he had no chance at the ball and for whatever reason decided to aim for the face. Horford can lie all he wants but when he realized the ball was out of his reach he redirected for Ford's head. Guys don't accidently hit something that is three feet away from what they are swatting at. I imagine that most of us have played enough ball to know that.
Maybe he redirected for Ford's arms to prevent the layup. Consider the angle. With Ford's head rising relative to Horford's swing (because Horford was on his way down), maybe it just got in the way. Isn't that far more plausible than Horford purposely going after Ford's head?
I agree with the people who say Horford was not intentionally hurting Ford. I think he initially went for the ball when he started to jump. But he misjudged Ford's path and missed that. Then he tried to foul hard to make sure no and-1 play. He probably went for Ford's arm. That was a stupid mistake, but not a malicious act.
Just wanted to add a little about TJ that you guys may not be aware of. He doesn't have a "history of back injuries". He has had exactly one injury to his neck, which is still part of the spine, but not his 'back' per se. The reason these sorts of things are a bigger concern for Ford is because he has a congenital condition called spinal stenosis. It means that the holes in his spinal column are narrower than most peoples, making him more sesceptible to things like stingers. Imagine a hollow pipe that your spinal chord travels through - TJs is simply narrower - meaning his spinal chord is less protected, or more likely to be affected, than others. It seems to me that the whack on the head snapped TJs neck back so quickly that there was a slight pinch to the nerves, which stunned him a little (possibly more than it would another player) and he wasn't able to react to protect his fall. At first I thought he was probably concussed, with his head hitting the floor so hard, but basically there was zero damage of any sort found on a CATscan and MRI. He basically still has the same sort of stingers he had last week. I think he panicked a little and that's why he was keeping so still while on the floor. Apparently his eyes glazed a little and he cried (partly panic, partly stinging pain), but he wasn't unconscious and he wasn't temporarily paralyzed. I thought I noticed a twitch in his left leg while he was down, but I might have been seeing something that wasn't there. He was basically told 'don't move a thing and let the doctors take care of you', which he did. It's not degenerative stenosis (meaning its not getting worse) and the surgery he had in Milwaukee fused together 2 vertebrae in his neck, while expanding the opening allowing more room for nerves that travel through those 2 bones. It's actually because of the stenosis that the injury was as sever as it was, which is a concern. TJ is probably at a higher risk of suffering nerve damage than other players, but it's not to say he's got a bad back, bad spine, etc. Nerve damage can be serious and lead to things like paralysis, but none of the doctors have said that his career or future health are in that kind of jeopardy by him continuing to play basketball. At least not yet. I have a feeling the Raptors will consult additional experts in the field to make sure they are looking out for TJs health and future.
It just looks plain as day to me that he went straight for the face. I imagine it was a millisecond of bad judgment but I just don't see how that was an accident. I've watched the video again and again and you can see after both guys go up that Ford has placed the ball clearly out of Horford's reach so Horford "chops" down for the face. No question in my mind that Horford did that on purpose although I'm sure he regretted it immediately.
In my opinion, if this happened one would use their hand/arm to brace the fall rather than falling on the head. I'm a huge TJ fan like most of the others on here, with that being said, except if TJ passed out in midair like someone alleged, i would think he would use his arm to brace his fall but i dunno what happened. I maybe wrong but thats what i think.
Just watched the video over several times, and the interview with Al Horford after that. I really don't think it was intentional on his part. Sure, it might have been bad judgement on his part to still want to foul after TJ's momentum carried him past Horford's block attempt, but Horford looked genuinely freaked out during the interview. You could tell he was worried about TJ. And him going to the hospital to check Ford out? That's just class. Dude has my respect.
i agree terrible foul, but he showed class by letting tj know he didn't mean to hurt him like that and the hospital visit was a class move.
