Turiaf's non-suspension is bad call
The Lakers' Ronny Turiaf will not be suspended for his flagrant foul on Utah's Ronnie Price, which occurred early in the second quarter of Game 4 on Sunday afternoon.
Turiaf was ejected from the game by the officials for hammering Price, but NBA disciplinarian Stu Jackson apparently decided running through a player who has already left his feet, leading with a left forearm to the chest, making a feeble wave at the basketball as the two collided and knocking an off-balance opponent awkwardly to the floor is not a big deal.
It should also be noted that the whistle blew because Price was fouled on his initial move to the basket, making Turiaf's motives and actions even more suspect.
Price's face-plant at the end of this nasty play resulted in a four-stitch cut over his right eye. He downplayed the incident after the game and, unlike many other teams in such a situation, the Jazz didn't campaign for further punishment for Turiaf. That surely helped him in the eyes of Jackson (and anyone else involved in the non-suspension decision).
Personally, I think Turiaf and the Lakers got a huge break.
If you compare Turiaf's foul with a couple of others that have resulted in suspensions during the playoffs, you will see just how arbitrary Jackson's decision appears.
Washington's Darius Songaila was suspended for a looks-bad-in-slow-motion blow to LeBron James' face in the first-round series between the Wizards and Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Atlanta's Marvin Williams was suspended for the first game next season after pulling down the Celtics' Rajon Rondo from behind in Game 7 of the Boston-Atlanta series.
If you look at all three incidents, I think it's easy to see that Price was put in far greater jeopardy than James or Rondo. Yet, Turiaf skates.
Of course, some Jazz fans will claim Turiaf's non-suspension is evidence that the NBA and the TV networks would love to see teacher's pet -- the Lakers -- back into the NBA Finals.
I don't agree with that theory.
I just think Jackson blew the call.
A final thought: Laker coach Phil Jackson disagreed over Turiaf's ejection and was incredulous when it was suggested that Turiaf might be suspended.
Asked after the game if Turiaf should have been ejected, Jackson replied, "Absolutely not."
Why?
"I thought the kid was out of control when he went in, and Ronny did go up to block the shot, but I thought he entirely played the ball," Jackson said. "I haven't seen a call like that. I was very surprised that he was put out of the game."
Out of control? Played the ball? Very surprised?
Jackson's damage-control spin on the Turiaf Affair is laughable.
Of course, I understand Phil still believes Bryon Russell should have been called for a foul for throwing his right hip in the way of Michael Jordan's left hand and allowing himself to be pushed out of the way in the final seconds of Game 6 in the 1998 NBA Finals.
-- Steve Luhm
Turiaf was ejected from the game by the officials for hammering Price, but NBA disciplinarian Stu Jackson apparently decided running through a player who has already left his feet, leading with a left forearm to the chest, making a feeble wave at the basketball as the two collided and knocking an off-balance opponent awkwardly to the floor is not a big deal.
It should also be noted that the whistle blew because Price was fouled on his initial move to the basket, making Turiaf's motives and actions even more suspect.
Price's face-plant at the end of this nasty play resulted in a four-stitch cut over his right eye. He downplayed the incident after the game and, unlike many other teams in such a situation, the Jazz didn't campaign for further punishment for Turiaf. That surely helped him in the eyes of Jackson (and anyone else involved in the non-suspension decision).
Personally, I think Turiaf and the Lakers got a huge break.
If you compare Turiaf's foul with a couple of others that have resulted in suspensions during the playoffs, you will see just how arbitrary Jackson's decision appears.
Washington's Darius Songaila was suspended for a looks-bad-in-slow-motion blow to LeBron James' face in the first-round series between the Wizards and Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Atlanta's Marvin Williams was suspended for the first game next season after pulling down the Celtics' Rajon Rondo from behind in Game 7 of the Boston-Atlanta series.
If you look at all three incidents, I think it's easy to see that Price was put in far greater jeopardy than James or Rondo. Yet, Turiaf skates.
Of course, some Jazz fans will claim Turiaf's non-suspension is evidence that the NBA and the TV networks would love to see teacher's pet -- the Lakers -- back into the NBA Finals.
I don't agree with that theory.
I just think Jackson blew the call.
A final thought: Laker coach Phil Jackson disagreed over Turiaf's ejection and was incredulous when it was suggested that Turiaf might be suspended.
Asked after the game if Turiaf should have been ejected, Jackson replied, "Absolutely not."
Why?
"I thought the kid was out of control when he went in, and Ronny did go up to block the shot, but I thought he entirely played the ball," Jackson said. "I haven't seen a call like that. I was very surprised that he was put out of the game."
Out of control? Played the ball? Very surprised?
Jackson's damage-control spin on the Turiaf Affair is laughable.
Of course, I understand Phil still believes Bryon Russell should have been called for a foul for throwing his right hip in the way of Michael Jordan's left hand and allowing himself to be pushed out of the way in the final seconds of Game 6 in the 1998 NBA Finals.
-- Steve Luhm
1:36 PM
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6 Comments:
Well put, Steve. I actually don't think he should be suspended, but I do think that Jackson's comments are laughable. "The kid's out of control"? Awful. He's going up for a layup. He's not doing a flip. And going for the ball? It's after the whistle! If I tackle the ref during a timeout, it's not going for the ball, it's tackling the ref.
Dr. Pill should be complaining about Matt striking the Drama Queen's elbow. It's obvious Matt is just trying to injure the Man-Child's elbow. Littl' Rickey would have sent video to the NBA for a Harpring suspension, oh, that was last series.
Jazzaholic
Sorry, I missed a couple of words.
Dr. Pill should be complaining about Matt striking the Drama Queen's elbow with his face. It's obvious Matt is just trying to injure the Man-Child's elbow. Littl' Rickey would have sent video to the NBA, for a Harpring suspension, oh, that was last series.
Jazzaholic
I, on the other hand, was a bit surprised by the call made by the officials. It was certainly a hard foul--flagrant, even--but having watched the excessive replays of the incident, I didn't see anything that warranted even an ejection from the game.
The call might have actually been better as a technical foul, since play had been stopped, but I could see them upgrading it, so to speak, to a flagrant foul, because of the intensity.
I don't know of any unbiased writers who believe that a Turiaf suspension was in order--usually those are reserved for fouls with obvious malicious intent. Turiaf didn't go for the head or anything near it, and most of the damage done was a result of the much smaller Price hitting the court at an awkward angle.
Hey Steve,
With game 5 in hindsight, now do you think that maybe the Lakeshow is the NBA's darling, and the refs their underlings?
Conspiracy theories are usually bunk, no doubt. That said, the NBA is still a (big) business that wants to keep up its stock.
Tivo that fourth quarter - I dare you; without question, powers were at play. It is one thing to have 3,4,5,6 questionable calls, but that fourth quarter alone was so blatantly one-sided that I felt embarrassed for them.
Steve Luhm, you are an idiot.
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