I'm not sure anything we'll see between now and the end of the playoffs can trump this: Russell Forgets Difference Between Playoffs and Regular Season (T)he Utah Jazz beat the Washington Wizards 94-79 Thursday night in Jordan's first game at the Delta Center since his winning shot in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Russell scored 11 for the Jazz, including a 3-pointer from the right corner with 3:10 to play as Jordan tried to blanket him. That ended an 8-0 run after the Wizards trimmed Utah's 16-point lead to 83-75. "Yeah! I got it right in his face," said Russell, who was infamously burned by Jordan's big shot in the 1998 Finals. "I hope you hear that, Michael, on your plane ride home," Russell added, looking into a television camera and smiling. "Clock running down, I looked at him, sized him up a little bit and I just shot the ball." A moment later, he added: "I don't need to throw him down to get a shot off." Russell did not add that only in Utah could hitting a meaningless shot in a regular-season game between two borderline playoff teams make up for losing in the NBA Finals. What a chump. I'd have loved Jordan to say, "I was trying to guard him but the weight of my 1998 NBA Championship ring weighed me down." I suppose, though, that the Jazz thought the officiating was "fair" in last night's game-- since it's only bad when they lose. **** the Jazz.
It was a <B>15-point win</B> in a meaningless game with Jordan just having returned from surgery ..... my goodness you would have thought Russell nailed up some peach baskets and claimed to have invented basketball as proud as he was of himself.
I don't know, are you sure Russell didn't say that 'tongue-in-cheek?' Even the article points out that he was smiling while he made his remarks. Now the 'I don't need to throw him...' comment is....questionable.
Even coming off surgery...MJ is the absolute last person you want to piss off. Bryon should be glad that he will only have to face Michael two times next year. MJ will be waiting for him!
Now that is damn funny.....who's going to take a jaunt over to the Jazz Boards today and see what they are saying?
In his defense, MJ did throw him down on that play. Should have been an offensive fould without question.
I don't see how anyone can say it was an offensive foul "without question." I mean, obviously Jordan had his hand on Russell and obviously there was some pressure applied. But Russell was already moving in the direction Jordan was pushing in, so we have no real way of knowing how much of it was Jordan pushing and how much was Russell just unable to battle the momentum he had already generated by trying guard Jordan's attempted drive to the basket. In watching the replays as many times as I (and probably everyone else here) have, I really don't see how Jordan could muster up much strength in the position he was in while trying to bring the ball up for his jump shot. But that is just my opinion. I know it is really indefensible, but so is saying it was an offensive foul "without question." To my way of thinking, it was a judgement call that could have gone either way, and I think the refs made the right call.
But it doesn't matter even if he only layed his hand on him and barely pushed. It's an offensive foul, at least to me. There was nothing Russell could have done as a defender given Jordan's hand there and probable push. It gives the offensive payer an unfair advantage (just as if Russel had done that to Jordan, only as a defender, he would have definitely been called for the foul). I don't know the exact rules, but if that wasn't an offensive foul, I don't know what is.
Yo, you'd be pissed if Jordan pushed you off and hit the game winner for the championship. I'd be bitter for the rest of my life.
Sure it matters. There are constant little pushes throughout a basketball game. Few of them are called. This is a physical game, and if refs start calling every little bit of contact, it will cease to be entertaining. You say there was nothing Russell could have done as a defender given Jordan's hand and push. Well, that may be true, but I say there was nothing Russell could have done WITHOUT Jordan's hand and little push because Jordan made a good move and Russell overcompensated while defending the drive to the basket. Allowing an offensive player to give a little push like Jordan did gives him no more of an unfair advantage than the "unfair" advantages defenders get when they give little pushes to move post players out of position on post up plays. Little bits of pressure here and there is all part of basketball. Like I say, I think the play could have been called either way, because it all comes down to how much each individual judges for themselves exactly how much Jordan's push had to do with Russell being unable to defend the shot, and how much Russell's body movements that he made caused him to be unable to get a hand in Jordan's face. I just didn't like it being called a "no question" foul, because to me it seems like it is VERY open to interpretation.
Raven, if anyone else besides Jordan had made that contact he would have been called for an offensive foul. Imagine Russell doing that to Jordan. I can just imagine David Stern jumping and screaming in his chair for that offensive foul call. The NBA has more star treatment then probably MLB and the NFL combined. In that, the star players get many favourable calls throughout the game. This "earning the refs respect" is the biggest bunch of BS I have ever heard. Call the game in a fair manner. It should not matter if its a 10 yr veteran versus a young unproven rookie.
That's besides the point. I understand you're argument, but I just feel that if it was, say, Steve Kerr that made the move and not MJ than it would have been called offensive. It's the same thing with Reggie jumping into players standing still yet getting the call - fortunately it doesnt happen as much as it did 5 years ago. I hate that stuff. They should call everybody the same way.
Fouls are all about positions of neutrality becoming positions of unfair advantage (I learned this while reffing). So, according to the book, because Jordan had his hand on Russell and did apply a pushing motion, it is an offensive foul, in my opinion. Yes, it is a judgement call and wasn't blatently horrible or anything, but...most people i believe would've called it a foul if it weren't Jordan. The game was tied though before the shot, so you never would know the outcome anyways.
wrong, bulls were down by 1 when he took that shot. that shot pissed me off so much. I hate the jazz as much as anyone, but I hated the bulls a tiny bit more during their run so I wanted the Jazz to win. If the refs could make shot clock calls earlier in the game that shot woulda never happened and they woulda played game 7. However, looking back on it, I'm always glad I can rest easy at night knowing karla and john will never have their rings. No rings no rings no rings. And it seems pretty widely accepted as an offensive foul. many times when you see the replay on SC or something they'll make a little remark about the push kind of in a joking manner but still admitting it was a push.
I hate the Jazz as much as anyone, but Michael clearly fouled Russell on that shot. Maybe if he had batted at Russell it would have been questionable. But Michael used his palm and pushed off. There's nothing questionable about that.
That play by Jordan wasn't "obviously" a pushoff and I'm glad the officials didn't call it. As much as I didn't care for the Bulls that would have been a bad call. Players do that ALL THE TIME! That wasn't blantant, in fact Russell seemed to slip a bit trying to defend him. As for Russell, I think that shot over an aging Jordan who came off of surgery will be the closest to a championship win he'll ever get.
