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November NBA Season Thread - It's finally time
- Thread starter DMczaf
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Man, Steve Nash has been averaging like 17 assists over the last 4 games. That team is gonna give people headaches in the playoffs, especially if they ever learn how to play solid halfcourt defense. 
Man, so Artest is out for the remainder of the season? Guess it worked out just as he planned, then-- now he'll have time to promote that album. :lol Wouldn't it be funny if Artest was actually an evil genius and in that split-second after he got hit with the beer, realized that this would be a perfect way to get some time off?
Man, so Artest is out for the remainder of the season? Guess it worked out just as he planned, then-- now he'll have time to promote that album. :lol Wouldn't it be funny if Artest was actually an evil genius and in that split-second after he got hit with the beer, realized that this would be a perfect way to get some time off?
Matrix
LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world hed rather have. The problem is, Dwyanes not a woman.
I dont feel bad for the players...I dont feel bad for the teams..I dont feel bad for for the fans of either team..I'm disgusted by the whole thing,thats how I feel about it now.
Catchpenny
Member
The suspensions for Artest and Jackson are right on. 25 for O'Neal is a bit stiff...I don't have much sympathy for any fan that comes onto the court, the players have a right to defend themselves in that situation. Wallace should've gotten 10-15 games, he overreacted in the first place and then tried to follow Artest into the stands.
RobotChant
Member
Harsh.
Season ticket owners might as well ask for a refund, seeing how Indiana's season is over.
Season ticket owners might as well ask for a refund, seeing how Indiana's season is over.
Here are my thoughts:
The suspensions are ridiculous. There was some precedent here...it wasn't a totally novel situation. When Maxwell went into the stands and punched out a fan in 95, he was suspended 10 games, and that was without any physical provication. Ron Artest was hit by a beer while lying down and went after the guy he thought threw at him. That sounds bad, but it is a split second reaction in a situation where he was surrounded by hostile fans with NO security around. It's also important to note that no one got injured at all, and Artest didn't even connect with his punches to the initial guy. People mention Spreewell as a precedent for a year long suspension, but Spree got the year (and Stern pointed his out at the time) not for the original choking, but rather for the 2nd time he did, which was considered pre-meditated. I say Artest should have gotten around 30 games, but since this was on live national television and Stern wanted to make an example out of Artest, he was given the season.
Stephen Jackson I actually agree more with. He went into the stands, unprovoked, looking to start something. Jermaine O'Neal's was the worst. He punched out a fan, but that was when the fan went on the court. Stern mentioned the second incident (near the tunnel) as the prominent one in his suspension. But when the fans were basically hanging over the tunnel, with no security holding them back, showering debris (including a freaking chair) at him, you've got to cut him some slack.
The suspensions are ridiculous. There was some precedent here...it wasn't a totally novel situation. When Maxwell went into the stands and punched out a fan in 95, he was suspended 10 games, and that was without any physical provication. Ron Artest was hit by a beer while lying down and went after the guy he thought threw at him. That sounds bad, but it is a split second reaction in a situation where he was surrounded by hostile fans with NO security around. It's also important to note that no one got injured at all, and Artest didn't even connect with his punches to the initial guy. People mention Spreewell as a precedent for a year long suspension, but Spree got the year (and Stern pointed his out at the time) not for the original choking, but rather for the 2nd time he did, which was considered pre-meditated. I say Artest should have gotten around 30 games, but since this was on live national television and Stern wanted to make an example out of Artest, he was given the season.
Stephen Jackson I actually agree more with. He went into the stands, unprovoked, looking to start something. Jermaine O'Neal's was the worst. He punched out a fan, but that was when the fan went on the court. Stern mentioned the second incident (near the tunnel) as the prominent one in his suspension. But when the fans were basically hanging over the tunnel, with no security holding them back, showering debris (including a freaking chair) at him, you've got to cut him some slack.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
I think stern took to account the fact that artest has been suspended before for loosing his cool. I guess he can record another album now lol.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
He left the bench.
Flizzzipper
Member
I don't know what Reggie did. Probably got aggrivated that his ears were blocking all the camera shots so they suspended him.
Flizzzipper
Member
Artest would have been better off to just go home, shoot some smack and beat up his wife then attacking the guy who threw a beer at him :lol
Flizzzipper
Member
I've been on the Wade bandwagon ever since last years playoffs versus the Pacers...the guys awesome. I didn't think that highly of him in college and thought he'd flop...oops!
Bat said:
IAWTP
The players were totally out of line, but I think the fans got what they deserved. You can't just act like a fucking animal because you are at a sports event.
Sucks for Indiana, but Ron Artest just improved Miami's chances of getting to the Finals by 8 billion percent.
Ninja Scooter
Member
damn, i know it was decades ago, but even Kermit Washington got a smaller suspension for cheap shotting Rudy T and breaking his face into a million pieces.
I don't see how anyone can argue that Wallace deserves more than O'Neal.
Artest acted psychotic, he was not in any way defending himself, if he or anyone else thinks that then it's a really odd concept of self-defense.
Hopefully the fans will get punished severly for their actions, that's got nothing to do with the league outside of the pistons organization. They should be banned from the arena (assuming they can be identified) and charged criminally.
And I guess I'm the only one impressed that Rasheed did nothing wrong!
Artest acted psychotic, he was not in any way defending himself, if he or anyone else thinks that then it's a really odd concept of self-defense.
Hopefully the fans will get punished severly for their actions, that's got nothing to do with the league outside of the pistons organization. They should be banned from the arena (assuming they can be identified) and charged criminally.
And I guess I'm the only one impressed that Rasheed did nothing wrong!
$100 says that the fans involved still get to go to future games, Stern won't do shit about the fans.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/marty_burns/11/21/suspension.react/index.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/marty_burns/11/21/suspension.react/index.html
The suspensions would be different if A: This wasn't Artest. B: This wasn't a small market like Indiana. I watched the whole thing with three other people who did not know of anyone on the Pacers or Pistons. They put a lot of the blame on Wallace for overreacting and the fans for instigating further action. They took little issue with Artest and that says something.
The biggest problem is that the sort of message this is going to send is that it's the players fault. Fans will feel fine with doing what they've been doing all along. There has been a history of fans provoking players, assulting them with insults both juvenile and racist and the player reacting. In each case it seems the fan gets a slap on the wrist and the player is made "an example of". Venon Maxwell, Jason Williams, Rodman and more. Yet, with each 'example' being made the problem only seems to escalate into to the situation we have now. Stern did make a statement about addressing the fan issue, but I don't see anyone talking about that statement. Maybe they don't talk about it because noone believes anything will actually be done about it. It was not just Artest who ran into the stands, it was many players and personall of the teams. This was obviously a matter of tensions being built up over time, fan-player disputes never resolves and obvious sign that security was not adequately taking care of problems on the fans side.
Also, if I hear the term 'professionals' or professionalism' one more time I am going to vomit so much Stephen King will be jealous. Professionalism is a modern buzzword for facade. That facade meaning lies. It's all about dishonesty. So let's be honest. We have a lot of overpaid imperfect people that are NBA players and we have a lot of imperfect fans who turn into major assholes with the addition of alcohol.
To me it's Assholes + Assholes = fights. Yet, only one side of assholes is being dealt with. This is leading to further player frustration and the boiling point that was reached friday.
The biggest problem is that the sort of message this is going to send is that it's the players fault. Fans will feel fine with doing what they've been doing all along. There has been a history of fans provoking players, assulting them with insults both juvenile and racist and the player reacting. In each case it seems the fan gets a slap on the wrist and the player is made "an example of". Venon Maxwell, Jason Williams, Rodman and more. Yet, with each 'example' being made the problem only seems to escalate into to the situation we have now. Stern did make a statement about addressing the fan issue, but I don't see anyone talking about that statement. Maybe they don't talk about it because noone believes anything will actually be done about it. It was not just Artest who ran into the stands, it was many players and personall of the teams. This was obviously a matter of tensions being built up over time, fan-player disputes never resolves and obvious sign that security was not adequately taking care of problems on the fans side.
Also, if I hear the term 'professionals' or professionalism' one more time I am going to vomit so much Stephen King will be jealous. Professionalism is a modern buzzword for facade. That facade meaning lies. It's all about dishonesty. So let's be honest. We have a lot of overpaid imperfect people that are NBA players and we have a lot of imperfect fans who turn into major assholes with the addition of alcohol.
To me it's Assholes + Assholes = fights. Yet, only one side of assholes is being dealt with. This is leading to further player frustration and the boiling point that was reached friday.
All Hail C-Webb
Hailing from the Chill-Web
That was a nice dunk by Prince. The Bobcats deserved to win it though.
Any game when the other team scores over 90 points, the Pistons deserve to lose, because they were much much better at defense last year.
But that was a sweet drive by Prince, he is just getting better and better.
Though you REALLY have to take into consideration pistons only had 8 players today, only 5 finished the game, and 2 starters were out. This was a tough situation.
But that was a sweet drive by Prince, he is just getting better and better.
Though you REALLY have to take into consideration pistons only had 8 players today, only 5 finished the game, and 2 starters were out. This was a tough situation.
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