Metta World Peace / Artest Cheap Shot (merged threads)

[SHAQATTACK]

I read a tweet of Perks where he dismissed the elbow as an accident and said Metta is a "GOOD DUDE"

Ok ...Perk I'm glade your gone.

[Smitty77]

Is that you Ronnie???:-)))))  You convinced me Ron.  You are just misunderstood.  You have every right to celebrate by exploding and guy's skull and perhaps ruining his career.  I sooooooo apologize for not seeing things as you so clearly explained in your press conference.

Ron, you are truly a transformed man.  

Smitty77

[CoachCowens]

I think that dtrader might be related to Ron:-)))

****. I know right. I didn't expect to be in the majority, but I didn't expect so many crazy responses either. Saying Artest knew exactly what he'd hit swinging backwards because he's a basketball player, and they see differently than most people is funny as heck.

Do you guys really think pierce intended to punch the ref that time? I mean..he's a basket player. His vision is way better than most people. He would've known exactly where he would hit. Fact is athletes get emotional and physical. Stuff happens. Ron was wrong, but Ive watched multiple times and I saw it different. I saw it pretty much like my cousin...I mean, Ron Artest said lol.

You know what's funny as heck, you not seeing the difference of being in a zone CELEBRATING and someone INTENTIONALLY cocking back to deliver a blow! Now, that's funny!

Artest was in the moment celebrating his dunk. He continued celebrating pounding his chest even after the elbow. So...I still haven't heard a reason why the pierce punch wasn't worse.

If you can't see the difference then probably no reasoning will change your mind but i'll try. Perhaps the fact that he wasn't thrown out of the game despite punching a ref will sway you?

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I think that dtrader might be related to Ron:-)))

****. I know right. I didn't expect to be in the majority, but I didn't expect so many crazy responses either. Saying Artest knew exactly what he'd hit swinging backwards because he's a basketball player, and they see differently than most people is funny as heck.

Do you guys really think pierce intended to punch the ref that time? I mean..he's a basket player. His vision is way better than most people. He would've known exactly where he would hit. Fact is athletes get emotional and physical. Stuff happens. Ron was wrong, but Ive watched multiple times and I saw it different. I saw it pretty much like my cousin...I mean, Ron Artest said lol.

You know what's funny as heck, you not seeing the difference of being in a zone CELEBRATING and someone INTENTIONALLY cocking back to deliver a blow! Now, that's funny!

Artest was in the moment celebrating his dunk. He continued celebrating pounding his chest even after the elbow. So...I still haven't heard a reason why the pierce punch wasn't worse.

Really? You honestly think he was just celebrating? So if he was celebrating why was his movement after the first chest bump and last chest bump TOTALLY different? The last chest bump was done just so he can use it as an excuse that you obviously fell for! No one goes from chest bumping themselves to a full on cock and release to someone's head to chest bump again, when you are in a zone of celebration there is almost a pattern to the "madness". He knew he hit Harden but went into chest pounding the 3rd time in an effort to pretend he was only celebrating! If you think he accidentally did a TOTALLY different move (the cock back and elbow to the head) and went back to what he was doing previously then Ron did exactly what he intended, fooled the...


let me stop here...

[j804]

I read a tweet of Perks where he dismissed the elbow as an accident and said Metta is a "GOOD DUDE"

Ok ...Perk I'm glade your gone.

I thought Perk deleted his twitter

[azzenfrost]

Let's say it was unintentional...

There's no way in hell I wouldn't know that I hit something with my elbow and jog casually to the other end of the floor. C'mon man. You hit something, especially the side of someone's skull, you'd know. If it was unintentional, you'd turn and look. He didn't and acted as if nothing happened.

[guava_wrench]

MWP clearly meant to elbow the guy at that moment, but that does not mean he wants to hurt people. Artest has always had problems with impulsiveness. This is a big part of what makes him such a dangerous person. But he is also someone who has realized that this is not good, who tries to take his meds, and who tries to overcome his impulses.

People have different brains. I respect that fact that MWP has been trying to get his under control. I still think they should penalize him tough for being so irresponsible because rules such as suspensions help guide players to better behavior if they don't want to let their teams down.

One thing I think is really stupid about suspensions in sports is that the wrongs teams benefit. I feel like if Bynum get ssuspended for hammering a player on the Mavs in the playoffs, he should be suspended for the games against the Mavs the next season (and if there aren't enough games, then work from the start of the season). It seems a bit unjust if a player from team A gets suspended for a violent attack on a player from team B, and then B misses the playoffs because team C passes them for the last spot due to a win against team A without that key player.

[syfy9]

*me pretending to be a laker fan*

come on, guys! It's all harden's fault! He flopped...jeez...lay off of mwp, he has a ring and you don't hahahahahahahahaaha...if harden wasn't in the way, none of this would have happened! Man I hate the thunder and harden so much for all this stress they are giving to ron...his freaking elbow might be in pain from the hit, and this is how you repay him?!?!




believe it or not, this is what I see in mwp's facebook page...

[kgiessler]

Let's say it was unintentional...

There's no way in hell I wouldn't know that I hit something with my elbow and jog casually to the other end of the floor. C'mon man. You hit something, especially the side of someone's skull, you'd know. If it was unintentional, you'd turn and look. He didn't and acted as if nothing happened.

This.  Any one who did not know a person was there would have also flinched from the unexpected feeling of something hitting their elbow.  

A poster earlier asked for how this incident was different then the Pierce hitting the ref, and this is a most telling factor.  An immediate response to something unexpected was not found in Artest.

Furthermore, another more important difference is that the elbow was not the first contact made with Harden.  RA and JH bumped, and then the elbow flew.  Considering their bodies were already in contact with each other, there was no questioning that someone was there.

[wiley]

MWP clearly meant to elbow the guy at that moment, but that does not mean he wants to hurt people. Artest has always had problems with impulsiveness. This is a big part of what makes him such a dangerous person. But he is also someone who has realized that this is not good, who tries to take his meds, and who tries to overcome his impulses.

People have different brains. I respect that fact that MWP has been trying to get his under control. I still think they should penalize him tough for being so irresponsible because rules such as suspensions help guide players to better behavior if they don't want to let their teams down.

One thing I think is really stupid about suspensions in sports is that the wrongs teams benefit. I feel like if Bynum get ssuspended for hammering a player on the Mavs in the playoffs, he should be suspended for the games against the Mavs the next season (and if there aren't enough games, then work from the start of the season). It seems a bit unjust if a player from team A gets suspended for a violent attack on a player from team B, and then B misses the playoffs because team C passes them for the last spot due to a win against team A without that key player.

Agree about Artest.  Soon enough he'll admit this as a mistake I'm guessing..

Also like your idea about suspensions....start with a basic suspension and then on top of that don't let that player play against that team for a certain amount of games, or any games....would be a good step towards preventing a retalation brawl...at least in the short term...

[mctyson]

Before I get to Artest, let me just state something obvious...

Basketball players, in particular NBA players, throw elbows all the time.  Everyone who has played the game knows you are essentially taught to use your elbows to clear out space.  That is not to say that you are supposed to jack someone up in the jaw, but swinging of the elbows is definitely NOT frowned upon by anyone, until you hit someone.  So there is some hypocrisy here.

Now. Artest is a complete tool.  I don't care what he's done to try and rehabilitate his image.  He is a goon and a thug, always has been (much like Dennis Rodman.)  It is part of his persona, and that's why he's such a good defender.  Players go into matches against him knowing he is two pints short of a quart, and they are intimidated.

There is no doubt in my mind that Artest threw that elbow intentionally, in the perfect moment to try and get away with it, to try and intimidate OKC and Harden, if not hurt him.  It's like he is planting a seed, and hoping it will sprout in the playoffs.  My guess is that he overplayed his hand and will be suspended long enough to miss a potential OKC rematch.  That is the only way Stern can send a...uh...stern message to the league that this crap won't be tolerated.

If he only gets suspended for the first round, however, Artest's strategy will be proven genius.  He may have kicked the hornets nest, but I bet Harden will think more than twice anytime he is near that psycho.

[ballin]

I like to think that my fellow Celtics fans are above the Fakers fan trash who claim that this was "accidental".

Anybody with have a brain can tell that the elbow was 100% on purpose.

Watch the video.

Artest turns clockwise and looks directly at Harden. Within 1 second, he moves up to Harden DIRECTLY AFTER LOOKING HIM IN THE EYE, and puts his left arm IN CONTACT WITH HIM BEFORE HE SWINGS THE ELBOW. Not only does he know a person is there, he knows exactly who it is, and has actual contact confirm the exact distance. And he swings away.

While he may or may not have been aiming for the head (probably was, though), he certainly was aiming to hit him with his elbow. If you can't admit that, I honestly think that you're brain-dead.

He didn't think that the person who he had just looked at, and brushed up against, magically disappeared. Or maybe he's actually that crazy, idk.

So can we stop talking about whether or not it was intentional?

[SHAQATTACK]

I've never seen Hardin play dirty and cheap shot anyone.  All players talk trash , its part of the game.

ALot of Lakers fans are actually happy about the cheap shot Metta Thug took on James Hardin.  

You only have to read the fans comments to see what a low class act they are.

LA faithful think because the OKC players are better than their own , its ok to intentionally cripple  players to make things even. Lakers fans really have this low of an IQ. Well it seems so., to read posts on their forum.

Once Hardin went out, OKC lost the lead and the game.  

Ron Artist and D Wade are hands down the dirtest players in the NBA.  

[Celtics4ever]

This.  Any one who did not know a person was there would have also flinched from the unexpected feeling of something hitting their elbow. 

Not always.  Big boys sometimes don't flinch and can knock the heck out of something with their casual strength.   I once knocked over a lazy boy chair horsing around and it didn't even break my stride or remotely impair me or make me flinch.  Artest is built like a tank.  I have often bruises on me and I do know how I got them.  Artest has 40 lbs on him and is bigger boned.  40 lbs. is enough to send someone flying it is a significant edge in mass.

That being said, I think it was intentional.  He ought to pay the piper and be gone for the rest of the season.

Here is his history, Peace name or no this man is not peaceful:

Feb. 21, 2001: As a Chicago Bull, one game for his role in an in-game altercation with the Milwaukee Bucks' Glenn Robinson
Jan. 4, 2003: As an Indiana Pacer, three games for throwing a television monitor and a cameraman's camera onto the floor following the conclusion of a game vs. the New York Knicks.
Jan. 29, 2003: With the Pacers, four games for confronting and making physical contact with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley, for taunting the Miami bench, for committing a flagrant foul-2 on Caron Butler (pushing him into the stands) and making an obscene gesture toward fans.
March 9, 2003: With the Pacers, one game for exceeding the maximum allowable flagrant foul points in a season.
March 13, 2003: With the Pacers, one game for again exceeding the maximum allowable flagrant foul points in a season.
March 20, 2003: With the Pacers, two games for again exceeding the maximum allowable flagrant foul points in a season.
March 19, 2004: With the Pacers, one game for hitting the Portland Trail Blazers' Derek Anderson in the head with a forearm.
April 19, 2004: With the Pacers, one game for leaving the immediate vicinity of his team's bench during an altercation.
Nov. 21, 2004: With the Pacers, 73 games (and 13 games during the team's playoff run) for his role in an in-game incident between Indiana and the Detroit Pistons.
April 24, 2006: With the Kings, one game for making contact with the head of San Antonio Spur Manu Ginobili with his forearm.
July 14, 2007: With the Kings, seven games for pleading "nolo contendre" to infliction of injury on a spouse.
May 5, 2011: With the Lakers, one game for swinging his arm and striking the face of the Dallas Mavericks' J.J. Barea.

This guy has a violent history and defending him is defending violence in the game.  Of course, LA fans are going to defend him, I am sure not all are though.   But a lot will do so but to me the only thing worse than a Laker is a Laker fan.

[myteamisbetterthanyours]

Feb. 21, 2001: As a Chicago Bull, one game for his role in an in-game altercation with the Milwaukee Bucks' Glenn Robinson
Jan. 4, 2003: As an Indiana Pacer, three games for throwing a television monitor and a cameraman's camera onto the floor following the conclusion of a game vs. the New York Knicks.
Jan. 29, 2003: With the Pacers, four games for confronting and making physical contact with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley, for taunting the Miami bench, for committing a flagrant foul-2 on Caron Butler (pushing him into the stands) and making an obscene gesture toward fans.
March 9, 2003: With the Pacers, one game for exceeding the maximum allowable flagrant foul points in a season.
March 13, 2003: With the Pacers, one game for again exceeding the maximum allowable flagrant foul points in a season.
March 20, 2003: With the Pacers, two games for again exceeding the maximum allowable flagrant foul points in a season.
March 19, 2004: With the Pacers, one game for hitting the Portland Trail Blazers' Derek Anderson in the head with a forearm.
April 19, 2004: With the Pacers, one game for leaving the immediate vicinity of his team's bench during an altercation.
Nov. 21, 2004: With the Pacers, 73 games (and 13 games during the team's playoff run) for his role in an in-game incident between Indiana and the Detroit Pistons.
April 24, 2006: With the Kings, one game for making contact with the head of San Antonio Spur Manu Ginobili with his forearm.
July 14, 2007: With the Kings, seven games for pleading "nolo contendre" to infliction of injury on a spouse.
May 5, 2011: With the Lakers, one game for swinging his arm and striking the face of the Dallas Mavericks' J.J. Barea.

9 Incidents from 2001-2004.. 3 Incidents from 2006-2011.. Plus this one against Harden.

He's changed a lot.  Cut him some slack.. Not saying he doesnt deserve a suspension, but you guys are trying to make him look like a demon, regardless of how much he's cleaned up his act recently.