Ron Artest elbow to Harden
im thinking 5 games. He was having a crazy moment where he was celebrating and had no reason to hit harden and never even looked at him, just felt him and swung an elbow. I dont think he was thinking right. It will hurt the lakers big if he misses mor ethen the first round of the playoffs.
Yeah, I think it's going to be 5 games, not smart to do that at this point of the season, especially because the suspension will spill onto the playoffs. If they get a first-round vs Memphis matchup and Artest is out 2 or 3 games, they could be in trouble as he is their main defensive stopper and Barnes would have to start, weakening their bench.
He should be suspended for the rest of the season, including playoffs. With our knowledge of the severity of concussions, he should be done. "World Peace" is a mental health advocate and his actions could possibly have profound, life changing effects to James Harden and his mental capabilities. unacceptable
His follow through was like he didn't even hit Harden. The slow motion on NBA TV was crazy. At least 5 games. I would give him however many games that makes him miss a least one playoff game. The Player's Union wont even fight this one wholeheartedly because it was player on player crime. But remember when its a regular season game suspension it doesnt carry into the playoffs.
I think it was intentional. Artest saw him from the side.
I mean, look at how he pulled back lmfao. That wasn't no accident man. He just played it off like it was. He felt Harden brush up against him before he threw it. That's what the extra cock back was for.
Just wow... Looking at that in slow mo just makes me lmao. Ron is dirty for that.
They didn't fully retaliate because of who it was. You see how Westbrook was running up on Artest then slowed down real quick. He will probably get 3 games. It was intentional but not at the same time. It wasn't like a pinch being thrown intentional but it was a I know someone is there elbow throw intentional if that makes sense
May have been dirty, but let's get real, dirtier things have been done. Bad move by Ron, but really, the NBA has gotten soft. The Pistons of the 80's made a career out of being dirty. Mchale literally crossbody blocked Jurt Rambis out of the air. Now THAT, was a dirty play.
The motive was worth 2 games, but when they show the hi was sorth about 5, but when they show it in slow motion from the right angle, he absolutly levels poor Hrden with that elbow. I mean I honestly though Harden could've gotten severely injured from that.
If this was his first time causing trouble I would think it would be around a 5-10 game suspension.
But because he is now a multiple offender and that was an unbelievably unnecessary play I feel as though he should be gone for the playoffs. Gotta set an example here, dirty elbows like that are not wanted in the NBA. Harden could've been seriously injured.
I think the league is going to come down real hard, much more than five games. It looks intentional and if you take the view that is was, then this was no different than an assault. It was not a basketball play, it was a dead ball situation. There was no beef between the two players except that Harden was killing it (which is pretty much what he does, he is has become a top player). I think Aretest is done for the season and, frankly, I think the league has to think about just banning the guy. It has to be part of their discussion. I mean suppose he takes out another player next season? What is he going to do in a tight chippy physical playoff series after banging with the same guy for five games in a row? What if he gets real mad at a guy? At some point the league has to be liable for Artest's actions because he has the history of dangerous plays and the league keeps allowing him to put on a uniform. Or maybe it is just the Lakers that take liability. I don't know if that has ever been done, but it certainly could be. A company has liability for the actions of its employees, same should happen if you hire Artest with his history of violence.
And by the way, this is an embarrassment to the Laker organization. Not as bad as what Bynum did in the playoffs. But at least it was the playoffs and a butt kicking and you could see how the guy could get worked up. This was just a regular season game.
Credit to the players on both teams though for not letting the game get out of hand with retaliation. That game was an awesome game. It was an instant Kobe classic with some of the shots he hit at the end. But it will always have a dark stain on it from that action.
Also, just this past week Larry Sanders was suspended for getting angry and wanting to start something. I don't think he even touched anyone and he was suspended for two games. Two games for not even providing physical contact with another player is pretty harsh so a powerful elbow to the back of the head should warrant much more suspension.
The league won't be easy on Artest, or atleast they shouldn't be.
Future Scout, are you kidding me? No way in hell is that a flop. He hit him hard as hell, did you see how quickly Harden was on the floor? No way is that a fake.
But one thing I observed was that Perkins had about 3 moving screens. They might have been illegal, but they sent the message and I'm sure Steve Blake is going under that one next time, lol.
Ron Artest is going to have the best union lawyer appeal whatever decision the league makes. That attorney's job is to create doubt and I see a lot of facts on the video that can cut boths ways. On one hand you have a player who has a history and a bad rep because of Detroit. On the other hand you have a player (who you would totally expect to do something dumb and not know he did it), hit a man who walked into his celebratory jestures, though he never make any eye contact with them, or seemed to acknowledge that the person was there and he made contact with them, and then stroll away like nothing happened. One version of the facts is enough to get someone w/ ron's history suspended for the season, another is an accident.
A key factor is going to be the extent of Harden's injury. During the game they said he had "concussion-like-syptoms," which could mean anything. It didn't look like he actually lost consciousness so it was probably a level one concussion if he even got one (which he probably did). Kevin Love actually got knocked out which means his was a 2 or 3. So that fact will probably cut in MWP's favor.
Its probably going to be higher and then get cut back on appeal, but I am saying 5 games by the end of it.
The play wasn't that malicious. Often players will shove or throw an elbow heading back on D. He was amped and excited(we know how Ron gets). His natural insticts took over at that moment and told him to take the head out. The act of throwing an elbow someones way heading back on D has never warranted a suspension. You could argue Ron never meant to hit Harden in the head, he wasn't looking and was in the moment trying to get back on D. Suspend him one game. I like both OKC and LAL, as an observer it wasn't a flop on Harden but I don't think Ron really wanted to elbow Harden in the head.
His natural insticts took over at that moment and told him to take the head out"
You know how many NFL players are going to miss this upcoming season for the exact same reason. Take the head out. That was the Saints motto against the 49ers, go ask them how they feel about that now. Sure, if this was the UFC then the elbow might have been legal, but to the back of the head? Rewatching the replay too, you can blatantly see him check himself, and bring the elbow over Hardens shoulder. Dirty dirty play.
A few comments on this....
1. Mike Breen couldn't have possibly overreacted more to this play. It was a dirty play. I don't think it destroys Artests "recovered" image, and I don't think its that big of a deal.
2. It was undoubtably intentional, but it was about 3% James Harden's fault. He bumps right into Artest, and its Artest, what do you expect?
3. As intentional as it was, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen done, he was sort of celebrating, and just decided to top it off with a nice elbow to the head. Regardless of how injured Harden is, I just don't think it was the thing some are making it out to be.
4. No retaliation is an interesting point. KD had about as clear a view of it as you could get, and he did nothing what so ever. I know basketball isn't hockey, but OKC lacks that enforcer type guy because Perkins has become one of those fake-tough, get T'd up, complain to refs, set illegal screens, but never really do anything guys.
5. In the game itself, OKC once again looked like a totally flawed team. They have 2 guys taking all of the shots, the rest of their players are offensive liabilities, and they tend to take all jumpshots in tight games. Westbrook got bailed out a couple times, and Durant hit 1 or 2 ridiculous 3s. other than that, horrible, horrible execution down the stretch.
It was wreckless, not intentional. It is kinda like if you are speeding in your car or changing lanes without your blinker and then cause an accident, Yes, it is your fault but it is not intentional. This is NOT like the Bynum foul on JJ Barea.
Damn this dude just put a vicious elbow into harden , wonder how many games he is gonna get suspended .. it aint right .... he was tring to say that he was just celebrating too ....