Suspend Brendan!
by Steve Weinman on Apr 22, 2008 2:24 AM EDT
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David Stern and Stu Jackson, we're calling on you today. This one's all yours.
Brendan Haywood should be suspended. For one game at the very least.
What the Wizards' center did to LeBron James on Monday night in Cleveland went beyond not being about basketball. It was exactly the sort of behavior that the NBA needs to curtail as swiftly as possible. And it was the sort of behavior that should certainly earn some post-game discipline.
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For those that may have missed it, Haywood was assessed a flagrant II foul for a hit executed on LeBron James midway through the third quarter of Game 2 last night, with the Cavs leading the Wizards by 15. The flagrant II carries with it an automatic ejection, and Haywood was accordingly given the gate. The game moved on, and the Cavs cruised by 30.
But the points remains: Brendan Haywood went well beyond any sort of acceptable norm for a play made on a basketball court. LeBron cut to the rim, caught a pass and began to rise to the rim. At this point, Haywood turned from his perch in the middle of the paint and gave the airborne James a two-handed shove that sent him tumbling out of bounds.
In case that wasn't enough, he topped it off by immediately throwing his hands up in the air in the classic "Not me!" gesture. As if it could have been anyone else.
So he was ejected, and rightfully so. But it isn't enough for such a deplorable act.
As one watches the tape (see above link), it's worth noting that at no point does Haywood even demonstrate a remote interest in, you know, the basketball itself. If he did, he would have tried to jump vertically to get his arms extended above LeBron's in order to get his hand at least coming down somewhere near the ball in addition to James' body. Instead, his movement is almost completely lateral, and he doesn't even make contract with James above his shoulders when he makes the shove.
No interest in actually making a basketball play. Strike one.
Further, Haywood's action was inordinately dangerous. We're talking here about a 263-pound man shoving a 240-pound man while he is in the air. With a man in the air having a weakened sense of balance -- and holding a basketball to boot -- this means that Haywood took a shot at a defenseless man. That James only tumbled into the folks sitting right on the floor and was able to get up and brush himself off with relatively little trouble thereafter was extremely fortunate. But it wasn't necessarily the most likely result, and it is by no means necessarily the result that would occur in a similar situation the next time around -- which, of course, there should never be.
Potential for serious injury. Strike two.
But sure, sometimes guys make dangerous plays simply by accident. Because they didn't know what they were doing or misjudged an angle somewhere. It happens. But, at the risk of trying to play mind-reader, that wasn't the case here. While we're generally loathe to attempt to get inside someone else's head, the surrounding evidence seems to add up well enough here. The Wizards were getting their heads handed to them, and Haywood was frustrated. That seemed to be the case prior to incident, and it certainly seemed to come through after the fact when he stormed off the floor and made a show of yanking his jersey off over his head while he was still visible en route to the locker room. But none of that accounts for the most damning evidence: history. Recent history -- very recent, in fact. As in two days earlier. That would be when Haywood cleaned out James on an illegal screen and then stood over him to prevent James from getting up off the floor, leading to an altercation in which both were assessed technical fouls. The man did something deliberately dirty on Saturday, and he did it to the same person to whom he would nearly injure very seriously on Monday. The possibility of coincidence here seems quite low. Especially when one considers what said victim means to the success of the Wizards' opponent this week.
Highly likely intent. Strike three.
Every aspect of what Brendan Haywood did to LeBron James last night was deplorable. It has absolutely zero place on a basketball court, and the NBA needs to make that as clear as possible. It needs to make it clear through disciplining the culprit at hand. It needs to make it clear for the purpose of deterring those types of behaviors (I refuse to call that a 'play') from being pursued in the future. It needs to take measures to protect its stars (although Haywood's move would have been just as wrong if he did it to the twelfth man), and it needs to take proactive steps to preventing fisticuffs on the floor. Indicating that these types of foolish conflicts are definitively not okay is part of heading in that direction.
The playoffs give us plenty to enjoy. But deliberate cheap shots aren't supposed to be part of the program. And the Association needs to do everything it can to punish those who behave as though otherwise is the case and to prevent more of the same from recurring in the days and weeks to come.
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You’re making way too much out of this. No way does Haywood deserve a suspension.
The ejection, eh, alright. I can live with that. I wouldn’t have ejected him but okay. One could make a case, it’s close enough to be a judgement call. I wouldn’t have ejected him though.
He tapped the man. It wasn’t vicious. He came over to offer help, ran back to his man, LeBron drove while his head was turned, Haywood was out of position, he sees LeBron late, he tries to get over there to block the shot, he’s out of position, he tries to contest it, doesn’t elevevate,doesn’t get there in time (Bron passes by while Haywood his halfway to his normal elevation), his hands are still out for the block, he can’t get out of the way …. I wouldn’t even call that a love-tap. There’s hardly any contact there. Haywood has been fouling him harder all season. So too has Butler. So too has Blatche. That, that, that was nothing. That was bad timing. No way does he want to injure LeBron on that play. If he did he would have nailed him, not a little love tap. And I don’t even feel comfortable calling it a love tap, there wasn’t enough contact for that. That wasn’t a cheap shot. That was bad timing.
No way does he deserve a suspension.
I watched the play at least 20 times (not exaggerating, at least 20 times) now and I have no idea why anyone would think he deserves a suspension for that. It boggles my mind.
I don’t think he should be suspended either. It was a bad foul and he should have been ejected, but like you said I think it was a misjudgment on Haywood’s part. Lebron is a beast, he didn’t want to give him an and 1, so he reached on the foul and hit way too hard to make sure no shot got off. The way Lebron can finish at the basket, I don’t blame him.
By the way, youtube is so awesome.
You’re kidding right?
Where was the intent to injure?
It really wasn’t even hard. I just saw a mild shove to prevent a lay up.
by JB_Celticsstuff on Apr 22, 2008 7:18 AM EDT reply actions
I agree with JB and others who think that calling a flagrant (flagrant 1 ok, but not flagrant 2) was lame. Lots of guys go to the floor like that and Lebron did not go sideways or have his feet come out from under him. Haywood got Bron on the shoulder and did not push hard, Lebron was already going hard on his own momentum. Lebron is so used to getting calls and being protected that he knows how to make it look real good for the refs, Haywood should do it again in the next game. I remember when Pierce went to the floor on his face and lost teeth – that’s flagrant…
Yeah, I don’t even think it was necessarily a flagrant 2. Definitely unnecessary, but I wouldn’t say excessive. I think Reggie Miller actually made a good point (surprising, I know), that if it wasn’t Lebron the guy probably wouldn’t have got tossed. Very possible…
The referees had already let this get out of hand in game one. The Wizards set the tone making hard bordering on thug fouls. And then Lebron retaliated (which I still can’t believe—I mean, if you want to send a message, that’s what Dwayne Jones is for). Lebron intentionally elbowed someone in the face. Isn’t THAT an automatic suspension? I think Blatche also had it coming after basically purposely smacking Lebron in the face, kind of like I’m going to recklessly foul him hard because this is the playoffs and if I happen to hit him in the face, oh well. Nonetheless, Lebron’s was cute in its own way, but clearly intentional. Basically that series would have been over if they suspended Lebron for a Cavs home game.
Totally agree with Steve … and while some say this was an over-reaction on the officials’ part, I heartily object. While this may not have been a strong shove, there was no attempt to go after the ball, so it’s only purpose was to direct force at the player himself. While the force of the energy leveled at LB was not overly excessive, it was intended to bring him “down”, and that clearly made the punishment warranted.
There’s also a consideration here for the the mechanics of the foul: It’s called an “under-cut”, and while not appearing to be that nasty, it’s well-known to disorient the player, and give him no chance whatsoever of “bracing” himself for impact.
This was the same type of shove that Rondo was given when making that famous slam-dunk of his this year, and the guy on the receiving end is totally up-ended, and put in a position of vulnerability that quite often brings them down on their upper body, with a momentum very capable of producing serious injury.
I’ve seen this injury many times in my work, and I can tell you quite emphatically, that LeBron, (and Rondo), are very lucky to not have come away from such falls with traumatic damage to their bodies. While many here have assessed this from a “amount of force” perspective, the officials have to view these fouls from a direction of “intent”, and the possibility of incurring serious injury. That possibility was very high in this case, and while the energy of the push was not overwhelming, the intent of this foul was very nasty indeed, and of a level serious enough to deserve even longer suspension, and bigger fines.
This kind of thing just can not be tolerated, and serious intent should bring with it serious consequences. SW is right on, here, and this incident, to me, warranted much more discipline than what was leveled. Kudos for standing up and speaking out about something that threatens to lessen the integrity of this game and it’s players, and something that should be nipped in the bud … quite forcefully.
it’s funny, in the NBA now, that’s a Flagrant 2, and maybe a one game suspention. In the 1980’s, that’s 2 fouls shots, move on. Remember the McHale/Rambis clothesline? Or Chief hammer punching Laimbeer? Not only was Cheif not ejected, he wasn’t even called for a foul because it was after the whistle!!
Hey Steve, you should get on of those playoff towels they give away at every arena. Then you will have something suitable to cry into.
James Posey is laughing at you right now. Go check out some of his handiwork on YouTube if you want to see what a REAL hard playoff foul looks like. Posey knows how to send a message. Haywood’s foul wasn’t anywhere near an act which should result in a one game suspension.
Keep up the good crying.
by TripleOT on Apr 22, 2008 10:09 AM EDT reply actions
There couldn’t be a more vivid illustration of why no matter how much better a team the Celtics are, it’s going to be a dogfight and probably the end of their run when they get to the second round. The glaring double-standard where James is concerned makes the Donaghy incident look like the norm. Why does a player of this talent and magnitude need Stern and his official’s help on every posession?
James is the most protected and coddled player in NBA history. Maybe if he got occasionally clobbered on his way to the basket without it being considered an international incident he wouldn’t feel like he could drive to the basket like it’s a freaking layup drill taking 4 steps without a dribble. His flop on that play rivaled Nash’s flailing into the table on the Horry hit or his ridiculous flop from Bowen’s “knee” last season.
It’s why no matter how great and talented a player James is his games are horrible to watch.
by lobstermobster on Apr 22, 2008 11:49 AM EDT reply actions
TripleOT,
SW was just voicing his opinion. Even if you don’t agree with him you don’t need to personally attack him, just put your opinion on the board like everybody else. Celticsblog is not the place for personal attacks.
Steve I agree with you in the fact that he did not make a play on the ball, but I think that come playoff time, we are going to see a lot of harder fouls and players playing much harder than usual. This is kinda what playof basketball is all about. Its fun to see fueds between players, but also it is not fun to see players get hurt, so I am torn on this issue. If Lebron got hurt, I don’t know if I would be very excited to watch that series anymore.
by bringbackcousy on Apr 22, 2008 11:58 AM EDT reply actions
i think that bringbackcousy has made a very astute point. without LeBron no one would want to watch that series.
Whether we fans want to admit it or not, the NBA is a business and that business is entertainment. If LeBron gets hurt, games become less entertaining and less people watch.
It is for this reason that players like LeBron get protected and even at times coddled by officials. Those officials are certainly aware that keeping LeBron in the game is good for the league. Really keeping all of the players healthy is good for the league.
I don’t know whether or not he should be suspended, but I do know that the play met all of the criteria for a flagrant 2. Some of the things you guys have mentioned, like how hard Haywood hit LeBron or how hard LeBron fell are really completely irrelevant to the discussion because they are not part of the rule.
It doesn’t matter how hard he gets hit. The rule is about the intention of the player not about the results of those intentions. By making absolutely no play on the ball, Haywood’s intention was clearly to take a shot at LeBron.
As far as Who’s argument that Haywood had to make the play he did because he was out of position, I think that is ludicrous. In reality, he didn’t have to make a play at all. By the time Haywood decided to try to make a play, he was already beat. Considering LeBron’s sheer strength, he had a much better chance of giving up an And 1 by coming into the play late than he did of making a solid defensive play. I completely understand the desire not to give up any easy baskets, but it’s not like NBA players, even in the playoffs, are really that dedicated to preventing easy baskets in the first place. There were quite a few easy baskets surrendered by the Wizards in that game. Haywood’s play was more about sending a message to LeBron than it was about trying to keep the Cavs from scoring two points.
by swisaclosetknicksfan on Apr 22, 2008 1:00 PM EDT reply actions
I still think it’s funny that no one is calling for Lebron to be suspended. Straight from the rule book:
K. PUNCHING, FIGHTING AND ELBOW FOULS
Violent acts of any nature on the court will not be tolerated. Players involved in alterca-
tions will be ejected, fined and/or suspended.
Officials have been instructed to eject a player who throws a punch, whether or not it
connects, or an elbow which makes contact above shoulder level. If elbow contact is shoul-
der level or below, it shall be left to the discretion of the official as to whether the player is
ejected. Even if a punch or an elbow goes undetected by the officials during the game, but is
detected during a review of a videotape, that player will be penalized.
There is absolutely no justification for fighting in an NBA game. The fact that you may
feel provoked by another player is not an acceptable excuse. If a player takes it upon himself to retaliate, he can expect to be subject to appropriate penalties.
Berkcelt said:
“If a player takes it upon himself to retaliate, he can expect to be subject to appropriate penalties.”
The rules don’t apply to Lebron James. They never have.
Berkcelt, the same double-standard applies to your scenario. Lebron will never be suspended. It’s a revelation to see him called for a foul. 3-4-5 steps without a dribble? When was the last time James was called for traveling? I honestly can’t remember. It’s not a wonder the Red Sea parts when James drives. His opponents practically face criminal charges for a hard foul. The foul on James was no more flagrant than Varajao’s.
I guess Stern didn’t want the bias to look flagrantly obvious. So Haywood didn’t get suspended. Amazing.
Swissclosetknicksfan is absolutely right. But the favortism makes James less of a player. Not more. If Bird, Russell, Jabbar, etc were officiated by a different set of rules like James is, they’d have never reached their potential as players. They wouldn’t have needed to. James may be the most gifted player ever. But he’ll never be the best he can be as long as he’s officiated by a completely different set of rules.
by lobstermobster on Apr 22, 2008 3:47 PM EDT reply actions
No way.
If and when the Cavs advance, expect Posey to do much of the same. In the playoffs, if you’re going to go strong to the basket, you’re going to be fouled.
That obviously was a bit excessive, but there wouldn’t be such a fuss right now if it wasn’t LeBron.
http://thelivefeed.net/index.php/2008/04/22/red-auerbach-re-incarnate/
I wish it could be like it used to be…back when you could clothesline a guy and that was that. No easy baskets, got it???
by Bleedgreen on Apr 22, 2008 5:04 PM EDT reply actions
Like it used to be. Back when Bird’s head bounced off the court and he came back the next half. When Isiah and Chief played on when one ankle was three times the size of the other. When McHale played on two bad knees.
The James, Nash’s, O’Gradys, Iversons, Anthonys and Wades of today act like they’ve been shot by a bazooka when there’s a defender within a yard of them. And the coach and trainer runs out on the court like their player has a two broken legs.
I’m sure Stern has sent a directive out to the NBA playoff teams, MBurke15. If Posey fouls James like Haywood did, he’ll be blackballed ALA Kermit Washington.
Stern should just issue an NBA quarterback practice jersey for Lebron James.
by lobstermobster on Apr 22, 2008 5:27 PM EDT reply actions
Hey all,
Much thanks for all the comments thus far. Looks like plenty of juices flowing both ways on this one. Sadly, I’ve been on-the-go all day to this point, which is why I haven’t been able to jump into the discussion yet. I have, however, been checking in whenever I can to read all your comments, and you can rest assured that they are not going unnoticed. I’ll be doing my best to get some responses posted up here later on this evening once I’m back and settled in for the evening (still out and about right now). Much thanks for all your patience, and I’m looking forward to chatting with you all more soon.
-sw
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