I read that post more like the injury thing that some people think he intended to hurt people but when you see his attitude you doubt that's the case. The opposite of this is Pbev, who got under Westbrook in midair years ago and many people, because of his general attitude, thought Beverly intended to hurt Westbrook. I don't think there is much to the idea that Giannis intentionally hurt Kyrie, I mean it was a collision under the rim while a shot was in the air, this happens nearly every play on the court.
You make it sound like Kyrie wasn’t the shooter and they were battling for rebounding position. Kyrie was coming down from a wide open layup that he’ll rarely miss (and didn’t), while (at best) Giannis moved in to what? box out a PG whose coming down from a bunny, straight-up, lay-up that he is unlikely to miss...and even if he does, he’s then some threat to out rebound you and three of your teammates surrounding him The play is wreckless, esp with his history of sliding his foot under shooters.
There is zero doubt in my mind that Giannis can be wreckless at times and regardless of his humble attitude he likes to display, I don't believe it. However, despite this issue, I still think the guy deserves his props these playoffs for truly stepping up. We have seen him fizzle out in years past and have terrible series and be unreliable, but this year has been different. At the end of the day, he still needs Middleton to step up in the clutch because Giannis is not going to hit those kind of shots most of the time, however, that doesn't negate the value that he brings the rest of the game. Plus, he has had some good defensive play in the clutch. The only thing this guy needs to do is start running laps in the mountains during the offseason. He seemed gassed at times in the last few games and it didn't make sense why that was the case.
Saying it is wreckless and saying it is intentional are TWO different things. Yes, Kyrie rarely misses layups, doesn't mean he always makes them, but the ball was literally in Kyrie's hands as Giannis ran to the rim. I mean using this logic (Kyrie usually makes layups so why try) why does Jrue even try to block the shot then? Pointless, wreckless, or just a guy trying to affect a play? There is always a risk of injury when you drive into the paint unless no one is there...and even still there's a risk of something going wrong. He moved into the space RIGHT as Kyrie was shooting, so he's making an effort play either way. he's supposed to assume Kyrie will make the shot and not go for a possible rebound? Yeah, I wouldn't want him playing with that mentality. I didn't say anything about him boxing him out, he was simply going for a rebound. That's how he plays, dude almost tore his knee up contesting an alley oop that was already being contested, was he trying to intentionally injure himself? I swear this entire thing has only been talked about on Rockets forums continuously, not many people outside of this forum and fanbase looked at that and saw a dirty play. Even Steve Nash came out and said he didn't think it was intentional.
Look, I have an irrational hatred of Giannis too. I will admit it's irrational and I think it largely stems from me resenting the fact he won MVP trophies I believed Harden deserved (and that's not his fault. He isn't who voted himself MVP). But what I'm not going to do is make excuses for why I hate him. How can I hate him for being dirty when I loved Mad Max, Patrick Beverley and even Chris Paul? And if you loved those guys too, maybe you shouldn't be throwing stones at Giannis (who I don't think gets as dirty as any of those guys)?
Guys, there’s no w in ‘reckless’ and I agree that Giannis is reckless, even though he seems like a good dude. I hope his undercutting of shooters is not intentional.
For all intents and purposes, isn't this basketball rebounding 101? Box out players to contest rebounds? In my opinion, not only was Giannis correct in trying to box out Kyrie, but Kyrie would have been unopposed if he was left alone. All because Holiday lost a cutting Kyrie. People can debate on whether it was intentional, but in the heat of the moment / on the court, Giannis did what basketball players are supposed to do. Yes, the end result of that play was bad for Kyrie and BKN, but if Giannis didn't try to go for the rebound, it could have been an easy offensive board for Kyrie and a possible putback.
His eyes on are the rim and the flight of the ball, he's got gigantic feet, and he's kind of gangly. Should he be more careful? Sure. Intentional? Very unlikely.
My main point was you made it sound like Kyrie wasn’t the shooter and he was on the move “a collision at the rim while a shot was in the air.” Had you said Giannis got his foot under a shooter as he was coming down, it happens; I wouldn’t have felt compelled to repost the shot. Fair enough?
Where his eyes are is irrelevant, no? Not to say it’s a flagrant (at all), but to use intentional fouls as a measure of whether where the eyes are is relevant, how many elbows do we see where a player has to look at his target, much less how many feet under a shooter involve the defender looking at the feet. . I mean pro athletes are pretty good at knowing where things are and where they are going to be without actually looking directly at things “But, but ... ref, I wasn’t looking that way.”
Put it this way. If he was looking straight at him when it happened, would you say that's irrelevant? If not, then, no, the inverse of that isn't irrelevant either.
Not sure I follow your logic. If you see a guy holding a gun over a dead body, that certainly is relevant in suspecting him as a murderer. But if you don't see him holding a gun, does that mean he is not a murderer? No, it just means that it would take other evidence to make him a suspect.
What would that be? No, it means he wasn't holding a gun so you've eliminated a scenario that would be very strong evidence that he was the murderer. But there are many other ways to prove a murder beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's relevant to point out that he wasn't looking Kyrie's feet because that would be the most direct and clear-cut evidence of intentionality in this case. Absent that, there isn't much else to indicate it was a "dirty" play.
lol come on its not even just "more than usual" the injuries this year are ridiculous His matchup is like undersized jae crowder or ayton who is a 22 year old kid. Thats who im actually impressed by
