Kobe suspended two games for vicious elbow

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was suspended for two games without pay Friday for elbowing Mike Miller of the Memphis Grizzlies in the throat.

Bryant was called for a flagrant foul for elbowing Miller with 8:24 remaining in the fourth quarter in Wednesday night's 100-99 overtime loss to the Grizzlies. He is scheduled to serve his suspension Sunday, when the Lakers host Utah, and Tuesday, when Los Angeles plays at the Jazz.

"Very surprised. Shocked, actually. Very, very surprised," Bryant said after practice Friday. "Angry and frustrated. I've been hit with a couple of flagrant fouls already this year. I've been hit with a clothesline and no suspensions come of that. and I get two games for this?"

After the game, Bryant was unapologetic. He was cut over his left eye early in the third quarter when Miller elbowed him while driving to the basket. Bryant left the game briefly, and took three stitches to close the wound.

"Any player that was going to come down the lane at that point in time, I was going to let him know that he just can't walk through there," Bryant said after the game. "I think we as a team have to do a better job of establishing that. And me, as a leader of the ballclub, I've got to take the initiative to do that - and hopefully, everybody will see that.

"This being our home court, people come here and think it's Hollywood and all sorts of stuff, so they think they'll come down (the lane) and look pretty and shoot jump shots and dunk the ball and finger-roll the ball and do all sorts of cute stuff. And we've got to stop that."

Bryant said his postgame comments were "no different than what everybody else says."

"Somebody comes down the lane, you've got to hit him," he said Friday. "You can't let them come down the lane and just finger roll and get easy baskets. Nothing to hurt anybody like that. That's just basic NBA basketball."

Bryant also said he didn't believe the elbow from Miller was intentional.

"You look at the replay, my face was nowhere near him," Bryant said. "My face was nowhere near his arm.

"I wish I could go back in time and take that foul back knowing what I know now, getting two games for it. But no way in my mind did I think it was going to be a suspension for something like that. No way."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he believed Bryant's postgame comments were a factor in the suspension.

"I think that contributed to it somewhat," Jackson said. "So we live with that decision."

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak took issue with the suspension.

"We understand that the league has a job to do in enforcing disciplinary action, but we disagree with and are disappointed with their ruling," Kupchak said in a statement.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5207954

If i was commish i would suspend Kobe for taking 37 shots and just hitting 13 :twisted:

What a load of horse shit! You're going to suspend someone over a hard foul? What the fuck is the NBA coming to. Can we bring back the rule book from the 80's? Mother fucker was coming down the lane. Kobe let that bitch know that it wasnt going to happen. Fuck that. That was the best foul i've seen since Corliss Williamson laid out that hick Brad Miller in 04. And i'm the last person on earth that'll defend Kobe.

Not a huge Kobe fan but he mentioned in anotehr thread, there wont be any cute shit happening, letting players drive down the lane. Although it was before he said that, well done Kobe.

On iamme's site, i enjoyed it when Corliss chucked the ball at Jerms

Kobe let that bitch know that it wasnt going to happen.


"No" means no.

If i was commish i would suspend Kobe for taking 37 shots and just hitting 13 :twisted:
ouch

Not a huge Kobe fan but he mentioned in anotehr thread, there wont be any cute shit happening, letting players drive down the lane. Although it was before he said that, well done Kobe.

On iamme's site, i enjoyed it when Corliss chucked the ball at Jerms
kobe is full of shit IMO. he just looked fustrated about the dwayne wade's of the world having their way with him. like i said in another thread. if he wants to stop somebody then use those defensive skills people supposedly say he has.

What a load of horse shit! You're going to suspend someone over a hard foul? What the fuck is the NBA coming to. Can we bring back the rule book from the 80's? Mother fucker was coming down the lane. Kobe let that bitch know that it wasnt going to happen. Fuck that. That was the best foul i've seen since Corliss Williamson laid out that hick Brad Miller in 04. And i'm the last person on earth that'll defend Kobe.
actually he'd been suspended in any part of the moern basketball era. see karl malone elbow on zeke. hard fouls and headhunting are in a different ballpark. always have been in the nba. even the bad boys were gonna get a suspension if they ever took it to that level(and they did atleast once to get back at malone).

anyone whose seen the pistons of the late 80's play know they never went for lunging elbows to send the message of a hard foul. thats a lil too close to football. and its even illegal in football so nuff said.

I agree with Gutz - there is a huge difference between what the Bad Boys used to do and this Kobe shit.

You can play hard-nosed, tough D without resorting to elbows and bullshit like that.

Kobe was frustrated and wanted a little payback.

He got it and now has to sit out.

Such is life.

Kobe was just taking out his frustrations on Miller.

He got hit pretty hard by Howard in his 62 point game against Dallas. Howard picked up a flagrant foul for the hit. Then on the XMas day game with the Heat, Wade threw a elbow to Kobe's chest but didn't get a flagrant. And when Miller threw an elbow at him and cut his eye open, he probably just got pissed and wanted some payback.

But I think the suspension was more due to the fact that he kept bragging/justifying to the media instead of just keeping his mouth shut.

But I think the suspension was more due to the fact that he kept bragging/justifying to the media instead of just keeping his mouth shut.
his need to justify it in his own self righteous point of view im sure didmt help him. but he was gonna get atleast one game going that blantant at him with it.

you can't take matters into your own hands with elbows like that. hack aguy on his arms, whatever. I didn't see the replay, but hitting a guy in the throat wrong could bust his voice box. you can't fool around with that shit. hard fouls are one thing, dirty shots are quite another.

I posted this in another thread, but he should have been suspended a minimum of 10 games, and if his name wasn't Kobe, he would've been.

It was vicious and intentional, and LITERALLY could have broken the guy's neck and paralyzed him.

Anthony and anyone else who thinks otherwise is just fucking way off base here.

This was Kermit Washington vs. Rudy T., without the broken jaw.

Now are we supposed to congratulate Kobe because Miller's jaw is a little thicker than Rudy T's?

No. He's lucky he's the one of the top faces of the NBA's marketing campaign, or he'd be sitting a quarter of the season.

Here is a link to a video in case some of you haven't seen the hit yet.

http://rapidshare.de/files/10136622/11-29-05_Kobe_vs_Mike_Miller.avi.html

too many users, I can't download it.

too many users, I can't download it.

If you try like 3-4 times in a row, it let's you in eventually.

finally worked. After seeing the Miller arm a few times, it looks like he was intentionally brushing Kobe away, but I doubt he was trying to hit him. Looked more like how Shaq uses his off arm on hook shots to clear out.

Kobe definately took a vicious shot at Miller though. Cheap bastard.

Kobe's an ass. I'm in favor of any suspension handed down to him, deserved or not.

BTW: It seems the people that aren't judging Kobe harshly are doing so only because of the things he said, and not the actual hit.

To me, your responses are analogous to if he pulled out a gun and shot Miller, and then said "we're not going to let guys come in here and think they can just waltz through the lane because this is Hollywood", and you'd think it was ok, because he was making a point and taking one for the team.

Fuck that. I'm not judging his words. I'm judging his actions. It was the same thing Kermit did to Rudy T. He should be sitting until March.