hmm, i take back my post then. i just remember the commentator talking about it and just as he said it, they panned to Kobe just walking off the court.
How is Ginobili supposed to know any better than anyone else? I think it is a hard call. I suppose in the end I think it was probably unintentional. He saw his blocked shot was in reach and he needed to get it and shoot it in a hurry. He swings his arm out to correct his balance so he can retrieve the ball and shoot again as quickly as possible. His shooting form may not usually look like that, but he knew he had to start moving as soon as he landed, so some midair contortions to optimize balance is not surprising. I have a hard time believing that Kobe is so good that he can multi-task to that degree: revenge hit on Ginobili and recover and shoot the ball as time is runnning out.
I think it was unintentionally intentional. I don't think it had anything to do with balance...he was just swinging his arm out really quickly and harshly to try and keep Ginobili off of him...it ended up causing damage. But the reality is Manu did get smacked in the face as the result of a normally highly unnatrual basketball move. Yes, you could be boxing out and your elbow could hit someone in the face and cause pain...but boxing out is part of the game. Swinging your arm/elbow out violently to keep a defender from blocking or defending your shot is only part of the game in that it is an offensive foul, and if that offensive foul results in what it resulted in, a one game suspension seems fair. Think about the Kermit Washington punch. Did he mean to punch Rudy? Yes. Did he mean to cause so much damage? No. But he did, and got kicked out of the league. Or the difference between throwing punches and landing and swinging wildly and missing. I know George Karl was b****ing about Melo's 15 game suspension when just thereafter there was another melee, punches were thrown but not connected, and the players involved were only suspended a couple of days. Fact of the matter is, there IS a difference between throwing a punch and hitting someone and throwing a punch and missing, even if that difference is only luck or chance that another player will or won't move in time. The one game suspension was fair. That said, I think Bruce Bowen should also be suspended when he kicks players in the face.
I saw the replay again from a different angle and it looks like kobe was fading away while being blocked which made him lose his balance. Usually when you lose your balance in the air, you stick your arms out for balance which is what I think Kobe did.
Wow, so Kermit didn't mean to cause damage? His intention was clear--to cause harm to a player. Because his intention was to cause harm, he is responsible for how much harm he caused. Kobe's intention was (likely) to hold off a player while going for a ball. Worse things have happened in dives for loose balls (i.e. Duncan/Tmac/Head in the Spurs game). His intention was to hold someone off, and while that occurred, harm occurred incidentally. As in accidentally. Therefore, he should not be responsible for it, aside from an apology if he's a good guy. You're talking about throwing punches and missing and throwing ones and hitting...but in both those cases, the intention is definitely to harm someone--with NOTHING else in mind. Totally different.
