http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3967289 Could be huge for us if he gets a 1 game suspension for our game against the Lakers tomorrow.
honestly i do not see odom being suspended. he is a LAKER after all. but i havent seen footage of him leaving the bench if he doesnt really go far then the NBA could say its the bench area since the scrum happened in front of the lakers bench. basically i would be surprised if he was suspended.
I'm suprised Ariza didnt get at least a one game suspension. Just an ejection and flagrant, hmm. I doubt Odom gets anything.
I wanna give LO the benefit of the doubt...but he got into the scrum...he was actually trying to break it up..which means he left the bench.
Well,actually considering the bench area,it should be within the sideline and he did walk into the court and baseline when the scrum happened there. And whatever the result will be,I still hate 'em,esp Ariza.
i think he is getting suspended not sure though ---------------------------------------------------- L.A.’s other potential concern following the incident is the question of whether or not Lamar Odom left the bench enough to warrant a suspension by the NBA. Odom certainly didn’t think so. “I stayed on the bench,” he said. “I stood up, but I stood right there … (The league) will see the replay … I (didn’t) go anywhere. No intent.” Odom added that L.A. might want to start treating every team as if they’re the Boston Celtics, but all in all, we’ll surely we’ll hear more about it on Tuesday. http://my.lakers.com/blogs/2009/03/09/ariza-odom-react-to-third-quarter-incident/
If Ariza wasn't going for the ball, I'd say give him a two-game suspension. Since it appears that Ariza might have been going for the ball (I don't really believe he was), then he should get only a one-game suspension because, regardless of intent, a player is responsible for his actions. And there's nothing to review with Odom. He clearly left the bench area. It's on espn's video (link: at 0:30 in this video: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3966302) He was in the skirmish, getting in Brandon Roy's face. Automatic one-game suspension.
The NBA is a joke regarding Ariza....it is sending the wrong message, it should protect it's players. Odom also has to be suspended......that rule is clear. DD
It doesn't matter if Odom was trying to stop the fighting, the rule is about leaving the bench area- remember the suspensions that the Suns got for leaving the bench against the Spurs in the playoffs? Same story. Its not about intent, its the rule itself.
He does take a step towards the scrum and puts his arm out to engage the people so he should "by rule" get a suspension. What LO did/did not do is not the real issue here, it's the original foul that needs to be address IMO.
if you watch the entire clip its roy getting in ariza's face trying to start something. you can also see when outlaw grabs him that he tries to raise his fist up like he's a bada** about to do something. after they walk away he goes BACK up to ariza. Not trying to defend ariza but just wanted to set that part straight atleast imo
i dunno, ive heard different accounts, i didn't see where he went, but i heard he walked as much as 15 feet towards roy, that's far from the bench, but is the rule you can not step on the court? cuz he could have walked on the baseline, would have been really funny if that was the rule and the fight was on the other side of the court, at the other corner, and odom ran around the perimeter to get to the fight without touching the court haha, i can just picture it
Odumb has to be suspended both via the written rules as well as the spirit of said rules. He clearly walks all the way over to the scene and involves himself. Stern will have to suspend him just to avoid the backlash of fans across the country crying double-standard for the fakers.
I was about to post that..lol anyway...man cant believe ariza didnt get suspended at all...its cuz he plays for the lakers >_<
They suspended TWO key Phoenix players in the PLAYOFFS for walking out of the bench area (with no apparent intention of fighting). If they do not suspend Odom, that's travesty.
Odom saying he stood up but didn't go anywhere is total BS - he went straight to the mass, and ended up chest to chest exchanging words with Roy before an assistant shoved him back over to the bench. If he's not suspended, it's a slap in the face to every player that was suspended for taking a half step over the line to get a better view of the fight taking place on the far side of the court (Spurs-Suns postseason). Evan
Clearly Stu Jackson saw the foul for what it was in ruling that Ariza will not be suspended further. I listened to Matt and Rich on 610 and they even said Ariza was going for the ball and were ok with Stu's ruling. Simply put, the anti-Ariza crowd were just not thinking clearly and were just getting emotional over the severity of Rudy's fall. Odom, on the other hand, needs to be suspended if the NBA is going by the letter of the law on players leaving the bench area.
