Reckless (adj.): utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless (usually fol. by of): to be reckless of danger.
Earlier in the season, I noted that the Andrew Bynum foul on Gerald Wallace deserved a suspension. Not because Bynum was trying to hurt anyone. He wasn’t. At all. The thought didn’t enter his mind. That’s the problem. It was a reckless play by the biggest guy on the court. When you have that kind of size, and that kind of speed, I’m of the opinion that as a professional, you need to have control of your body in order to avoid situations that could endanger the career and lives of your peers. Like, oh, say, internal bleeding.
But no! The world cried! It was just unfortunate! The injury should have no bearing! It was just a freak accident! Besides, Gerald Wallace has a history of injuries! Sure, none of them fall under the severity of internal freaking bleeding, but hey! Stone’s throw! What, you want to wussify basketball! This is just good, hard, playoff basketball! You don’t want to take a foul, don’t come in the lane!
A few days later, LeBron James went baseline against the Los Angeles Lakers. Bynum made a play on the ball. He had no regard for the results of his attempt on the ball. The result was him throwing LeBron to the ground. LeBron landed hard. He got up, because, um, the man’s a tank. But since that point, I’ve noticed LeBron focusing on his perimeter game, and he hardly attempted to drive inside until the fourth quarter of the 2nd matchup.
I’d noticed Ariza before. Ariza is a true Hustle Junkie. Nothing but foot on the pedal. The kind of guy you love if he’s on your side. Heck, with all the dunks and breakaway steals, most people in the general NBA loved his resurgence too. But I kept noticing that he’d dive for balls through players. He’d go for fouls with arms fully extended, often making a lot of contact. I mean, it was fun to watch. Seriously. But I kept thinking, “wow, that’s dangerous.” Again. And again.
Fernandez will most likely (thank God) be okay. And maybe it was just an isolated incident. A freak play. By no means was it dirty. Ariza wasn’t trying to club him in the head. The problem is not that Ariza meant to hurt him. It’s that he didn’t care if he did. It wasn’t dirty. It was reckless.
I’m not saying that players need to not touch each other on defense. I’m not saying there’s no place for hard fouls. I’m not saying that if a guy puts an elbow in your back, you don’t remind him next time he goes up. But there’s got to be some semblance of respect for the guys that share the floor with you. They’re trying to make a living, just the same as you. I’m in competition with another company, I don’t want to do something that results in their house getting torn down. You can want to win without abandoning regard for the safety of the other 6-foot to 7-foot full speed players you’re battling against. The game was over. Rudy was going up for a simple dunk.
Davis was just as guilty the other night. It’s not a matter of dirty (though the Celtics will definitely use whatever edge they feel is necessary). It’s a matter of reckless. And it’s a matter of not risking the health and livelihood of a guy over your frustration that you just got the forum blue beat out of you by a team that plays worse defense than you do.
We’ve seen two players hit the deck and go to the hospital as a result of a Lakers foul this season. What’s it going to take before the league sends a message, even one so simple as “Not a big deal, but keep control.”
What say you? Should NBA players be concerned with the safety of other players, or should they simply have one goal in mind, winning?
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There is definitely some shades of thuggery in there. I don’t know maybe it is some secret policy by the Lakers team. If you can’t beat them…maim them.
I was about to write this post, but you already did. Thanks.
i have to asy if they are up by that much why is he in the game thats the blazers fault, yeah ariza did go harmlessly but if that was a close game or even as it wasnt if it was a straight clean block it would have been on sportscenter noway he should have got thrown out
+1. It’s important to stress the responsibility the players have towards one another. I’m a big fan of Ariza’s, count me in the camp of people thrilled by his resurgence, because I’m a Hustle Junkie Junkie.
I don’t think he’s a thug, but players DO need to be held accountable for their negligence, because “not meaning to” doesn’t undo a thing. Player lands on your foot, twisting his ankle? Freak accident. Dude falls over because you hit him while he was going up for a dunk in a blow out? You’re responsible.
Would it have been different if he had grabbed his arms while in front of him? Most fans don’t want a contact-free game, but if you see the hit coming, you’ll land on your feet. Should there be a rule about ANY contact from behind in a breakaway situation? Just a thought.
I disagree with your interpretation of events. This was a frustration foul and dangerous – a “message” foul. And the Blazers just took the reciept. Now I’m a Canadian, and our national game is Hockey [1]… and this colours my responses. That said, what the Blazers should have done (the proper response to this kind of shit) is next Laker possession, hammer (ie. Flagrant 2) the “biggest”[2] Laker on the floor. The message is, “You wanna play dirty, we can play dirty. We dish it just as well as you can, and we can take it…”. Instead, the Blazers pussied. They should have nailed someone to a wall next possession…
Also, note that Lakers has a history, http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3180150&postcount=43 . Of the Lakers bullying the Blazers and getting away with it. If the Blazers want to be a championship team, they are going to have to send the message back – “WE AREN’T TAKING THIS SHIT ANY MORE!!!”
[1] To quote Conn Smythe, deceased owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, “If you can’t beat ‘em in the alley, you can’t beat ‘em on the ice.” It should also be noted that the current NHL MVP trophy is called the Conn Smythe Memorial trophy. Hockey has a little bit different attitude than most American sports…
[2] “Biggest” – not the largest guy (DJ Mbenga or whoever), rather, if you had Kobe, Pau, Odom, Ariza and Farmar on the floor, the “biggest” order is 1) Kobe, 2) Pau, 3) Odom,4) Ariza, and 5) Farmar…Who’d Mr. Big order, who’s the Mojo man order…
It’s going to be pretty stupid when someone gets seriously hurt because the line between NBA and NFL has become blurred. Enough with the cheap shots. Suspend the next offender 10 or 25 games and clean this up. There’s nothing competitive or cool about trying to get physical and hurt someone, especially when you’re down 30 points and the game is out of hand.
If we think that Ariza does thugery, then the blogger is just as retarded.
That is not a good comment. That just tells me that Ariza sacrifices his body more for the good of the team. Funny that the blogger did not mention that Ariza also jumps high on dunks with no regard, and drives to the basket with reckless abandon. All those things are done by risking his body. You know that with his style Ariza there is a higher probability that Ariza gets injured but he does not care that is just how he is.
Okay, there’s some hate on the comments here–but I can see why.
I mean, was the play dangerous? Yeah, it was. But it’s basketball, it’s a contact sport. I am not trying to be a prick or anything, but responding to Aliasing, what Ariza did was not dirty. What you suggested is something straight up disgusting. Ariza plays hard every single play, regardless of the score, so the intensity, passion, and the occasional hard foul will be there.
YOU WANT YOUR BENCH PLAYERS TO PLAY HARD EVERYTIME THEY HIT THE FLOOR, not just when it is a close game. So I don’t understand how that was a “message” foul.
And could it be a frustration foul? Yeah, it could…but if you watch the video calmly, and not scream bloody murder every time, Ariza got a lot of ball, and his foreaarm unfortunately hit Rudy’s head. Yeah it’s a hard foul, and definitely a flagrant ’cause of the head thing, but mannn he never intended to take Rudy out.
What you are suggesting will simply lead to another brawl that no one in the league wants to take part of. I’m sorry, my friend, this isn’t hockey, and thank god it’s not. there’s a place for hard fouls, and there’s a place for violent retaliation. I guess the NBA is just further along the evolution curve of sports, where we don’t allow such violence to happen.
Oh, by the way, I’m sure most viewers will find your comments repulsive. We don’t need another indiana. And EVEN RON RON has changed. Dwell on that.
Thanks.
@cdub – He isn’t a starter, and it was the 3rd quarter. What are they supposed to do, pull guys out of the stands? Call the game?
@Israel – It’s his perogative to sacrafice his body as he sees fit. Nobody should tell him to do otherwise. However, he does not have the authority to sacrafice someone else’s body.
I see this as an ejection, no suspension deal. He wasn’t going for the kill. Still, punishment isn’t merited. Just because there were hard fouls in the old days doesn’t make it right. It makes it old.
I gotta chime in with Laurance here, and I’d feel the same way if Rudy had done the exact same play to Ariza and it had been Ariza who’d been carted off on a stretcher. Basketball is a contact sport, and guys are gonna attempt to block shots, even if it results in a foul. If you try to legislate that out of the game by threatening suspensions you’re just going to hurt the game. Look at how disgusting football is with the ticky tack nonsense where players get 15 yard penalties because they touched a quarterback or a kicker. You gotta let the guys play and just accept that sometimes accidents happen.
If you want to do away with unnecessary contact, then come down harder on intentional fouls, and I mean ALL intentional fouls. The much more dangerous plays that are extremely routine in the league are guys who run in front of someone and stop stiff trying to take a charge. That’s real dangerous for a guy who’s in the air to suddenly have a guy standing underneath him like that.
To try to prevent these kinds of fouls, don’t suspend a player or give him a flagrant 2 – instead make rules that discourage these types of plays. Let the clear path rule include plays like this and any other foul which prevents a clear breakaway without worrying about whether a guy was actually a few inches ahead of the other player or not. The rule’s already there, just have the refs call it any time someone intentionally fouls to prevent what should be a breakaway layup attempt. Players nowadays have the mindset that they’d rather make a guy earn those two points from the line than by giving up a dunk, so if you want to reverse that kind of mentality then make rules that no longer make it a good way to play the odds. Then you don’t have to wait till a play gets a little too out of control to have to decide if it was flagrant or not.
Sad analysis of a play which was not dirty or reckless. Basketball is a physical sport which is played at a fast pace, especially on a breakaway basket. Ariza got the ball, wrist and slightly hit Rudy on the head. If Rudy had injured his head it would be one thing, but he got winded from the fall which was a result of him losing his balance. If you ever play basketball you know that when someone swipes the ball out of your hand in the air,you will most likely lose your balance.
Whenever you go for a dunk in the air, you’re taking a risk since you’re in the air and you lose most of your balance. Reckless would be swinging for the head and slamming into his body, none of which Ariza did. Ariza did not make body contact and he went for the ball and actually got the ball. Stop making baseless accusations about a player who you have no idea about. I’ve watched every single Laker game this seasons and Ariza is not a dirty player.
If you wanna talk about stupid acts, talk about ROY who I had alot of respect for before this incident. Instead of checking on your teammate who is on the ground, he goes to fight Ariza.
QUICK FACT CHECK
ARIZA GETS NO PART OF THE BALL. ONLY WRIST AND HEAD.
I have no problem with the foul and subsequent ejection. I have trouble with Ariza’s attitude after the foul. He should shown some respect for Fernandez and taken some responsibility for his actions. He should have RUSHED over to apologize. He should have apologized to his teammates. Instead, he tried to pick a fight. He continued barking at the Portland bench for several minutes. No remorse. The man is an ass, no matter how gifted he is.
It was a dirty, disgusting play, by the most sickening group of characters in professional sports, on the most evil team in professional sports. All their careers, Kobe and Jackson have won calls and titles because their wins make the NBA $$$…
They are so bitter when they get the utter s**t kicked out of them, they think they have a right to recklessly maim the opposing team.
The Bulls only deserved 4 of their titles — at most –, and the Lakers didn’t deserve a single title from the Shaq-Kobe era. All titles were granted by the refs.
Let’s clean up this league — and the let the true champions, the Portland Trailblazers, take their rightful place as the best *team* in basketball.
OK some of the people making comments on this blog are 1. Dumb A$$es, 2. Obviously didn’t see the game, and 3. Are probably Lakers Fans that are bitching because someone is bad mouthing their team.
The fact is that there was still a quarter left to play in the game and Ariza was getting served in every direction and went after a player not the ball. He elbowed Rudy in the head and then raked through his elbows (not the ball). This is not the only time that the Lakers have pulled this kind of s*** either. Last year Odem did the same thing to Brandon Roy. The team plays recklessly, but for some reason they always gets away with a typical go stand in the corner for 5min. attitude from the NBA. The Lakers are a bunch of punks. Odem, Ariza, Kobe and the rest…. Punks. When is it going to stop???? When someone ends up really getting hurt?
Man, Blazer fans are just as obnoxious as Laker fans. Derrick, you don’t think the Lakers deserved their title in 2001 when they went 15-1 in the playoffs with the only loss coming in OT? Which game or games from that year are you outraged over? Were you fuming in Game 2 of their first round matchup with the supposedly classy Blazers when Dale Davis got a flagrant 2 and was ejected for throwing Robert Horry an elbow, sending him into the crowd, even though the ball was a good 35 feet away from where they were standing? Maybe Rasheed’s two techincals in that game were what drew your ire?
Really, I’m curious to hear which games that year you thought the refs threw in favor of the Lakers.
@ Laurance – Sure, you want your bench players (all your players) playing hard. The question is do you want them playing dirty. As ericL, #12, says “ARIZA GETS NO PART OF THE BALL. ONLY WRIST AND HEAD.” It was a viciously dirty foul. He got no ball, and Fernandez was carried of the court with a cervical collar. Ariza’s team was down by 28 at the time, and his best outcome for a fair play was giving up 2 foul shots – yes he was that far off in terms of timing – there was no way he has getting the ball clean. If he’s playing dirty, his best outcome is an injury to Rudy that gets in Portland’s head, which gives his team a shot at a comeback…
I do not expect Ariza to get suspended for this incident; he plays for the LAKERS (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3967289). Like any contender, the Lakers will take any advantage they can get, which is quite reasonable, and will bully other teams if the league will let them. Until the Blazers push back hard, the Lakers will continue to bully them. IF the Blazers make an incident of this – hell, if they end up with another detroit level brawl – they will still be better off than waiting for the league to protect them, because the league WON’T without a fuss. So yeah, trade a flagrant for a flagrant, and make it clear that not only are you willing to call the bet, but willing raise… You may not like it, but if your not one of the big markets in the NBA, you better be willing to push back is you want to contend, cause the league bends over backwards for the big markets.
I was debating whether or not I should comment since the debate earlier vanished and was replaced by ignorant insults that have absolutely no merit.
But to comment on some comments, if you will, maybe we can clear some things up.
First Todd, I see you reasoning and actually would feel the same way had not Roy and the rest of the Blazer gang rushed Ariza right after the foul. I didn’t see an opportunity where Ariza could’ve say “sorry” to Rudy. It’s tragic really, because even if he had the intention to do so, it was all negated by the Blazers players. If a group of opponents rushed at you with the intent to beat you down, you probably won’t repeatedly say sorry but would protect yourself. Is that a great reason? No, but it is a reason nonetheless, and it’s sufficient in my book.
Second Derrick, I think..wait, I mean i KNOW there are dirtier, more disgusting plays in the league. And really, i second what WildYams said, please explain further.
And G-Man, come on, is that really all you had to say? I find it funny that you put dumb a$$es, lakers fan, and people that didn’t watch the game together in one list. Bravo. But if you are going to debate the legitimacy, or the sophistication for that matter, of lakers fans, at least spell Odom’s name correctly. But I must thank you for providing material for me to better explain Ariza’s foul through examples. You see, the comments posted by the earlier commenters are somewhat like a hard foul in which we had reasons and opinions to talk about, in a cordial way I suppose. What you did = a flagrant two, where everything you said was biased and malicious. Oh, and for the record, I am not a dumbass, watched the game, and oh so definitely a Lakers fan. Does that make my comments any less legit?
p.s. Ericl, QUICK FACT CHECK
HE GETS BALL THEN WRIST
Oh, and I heard LBJ was at UCLA, can anyone verify? ‘Cause i’ll feel stupid for running cross campus to see him. Rajon Rondo and House was here when they played the Clippers.
There is no fucking way he gets any ball. That hand that “gets ball” is the same one that has a hold of wrist as the arm comes through. How does one manage that maneuver?
I am waiting for a laker to be taken out. I am waiting for the response from laker nation.
Laurence: you were unfairly attacked on here. But your wrong, he made a play for the ball but he got none.
What’s interesting to note is that Farmar immediately walks over to Fernandez after the foul to check on him, while Ariza turns away from Fernandez on the floor and starts talking trash.
If Ariza wanted to foul Fernandez, maybe shove him hard or something, I don’t think that’s dirty. That’s playing smart and forcing him to take foul shots. Even if he did this foul, and at least turned around to check on the guy he fouled, he could claim innocence and that it was an accident. But the complete disregard towards Fernandez and the trash talking shows he’s just a thug.
Lawrence,
From being at the game, what looked like happened is Ariza immediately was talking trash after the play. Roy seeing that went over to talk trash back.
Just thought I’d check in to see if Derrick expanded on why he thought the NBA gifted the Lakers the title in 2001, but I see he hasn’t written anything in response.
That’s what I thought.
It seems like no one here actually plays basketball, or are just drinking the Blazer fan Henry Abbot Kool-Aid. Sorry to sound so condescending, but that foul was not dirty, nor intentional, nor reckless. The injury was unfortunate, but kind of a fluke. You see block attempts like that often, but not always results like that. Shit happens. It happened to Rudy. Y’all sound like wusses.
This argument about it is ridiculous. Anyone who claims to follow the NBA, then whine about conspiracy theories, is not worth arguing with. Last I checked, the Lakers didn’t cash in their NBA bias voucher in last June.
My comment came out more insensitive then I intended. Of course, no one want to see a player injured, but I just don’t think Ariza did anything wrong, but get caught in a bad situation with the speed of the play. He jumped before Rudy did, and Rudy braced for contact as he attempted to cock it back and got his arm caught with Ariza’s.
Hey ericL, it seems like he gets at least some ball, but the videos i’m watching are youtube quality, so maybe I am wrong. But regardless, even you have agreed that he played the ball and not trying to take Rudy out. thanks for that.
wildyams-i doubt he’ll respond..but it would be interesting
and seriously, for everyone with “i want someone to be taken out” attitude does not, in my mind at least, constitute a true basketball fan. If you want a fight, watch boxing. Physicality, yeah thats cool, but vindictive retaliation? Really?
The league has been trying to shape up it’s image from “thugs” playing basketball, the stars who are pushed by the league today mostly have good personalities. This is not by coincidence.
And wondahbap, thank you, thank you, and thank you. i read what Henry Abbot wrote also and find it biased, but then again, he’s a blazers fan and i guess he can protect him. And then again he also has more cred then we do. But bawful has this ongoing piece of the wussification of the league or something. And it’s true. sadly, they too hate the lakers.
In the first two photos in this slideshow, one can clearly see Ariza’s hand on the ball. Rudy ducked his head, and Ariza’s forearm brushed the top of his head fairly hard, because he took a big swing from the side. Yes it was a reckless play, and deserved a flagrant 2.
The reason Rudy fell so awkwardly was because he went up for a two-handed dunk off one foot. Most NBA players on a fast break will go up with one hand when they jump off one foot. Going up with two hands meant that after Trevor hit the ball, he made contact with Rudy’s left wrist, which was raised as a result of trying a two-handed dunk. When Trevor made contact with the wrist, it caused Rudy to pinwheel in the air and land with no control. If he had tried a one-handed dunk, he probably would have landed properly but unsteadily, and likely drawn a foul even if the shot were blocked because Trevor’s forearm caught him on the head.
Forgot the link to the slideshow. Rookie move.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/03/fernandez_released_odom_suspen.html
@ Laurance
You’re overstating my position by saying I want someone taken out. I just say that if you want to be a contender, you can’t let other teams get away with hitting your guys like that. Despite the fact that the Rose Garden has been a fortress against the Lakers for years now, this years Blazers won’t take a series, nor even extend a series to 7 games against the Lakers – the hard core of fight isn’t there. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself and your teams.
I don’t think that Ariza necessarily was trying to take Fernandez out, and I do agree that Ariza was going for the ball. However, unless Ariza virtually cleared Fernandez, there’s no way that he could’ve gotten all ball, except through Rudy’s head. I don’t think it was intentional, but definitely reckless.