Browns Fans Called “Most Loyal”, and Not as a Compliment
May 3, 2010Open Thread: Cavs vs Celtics, Game 2
May 3, 2010With much of this morning’s shoot-around discussion revolved around what the Cavaliers have in store for Boston’s Rajon Rondo, head coach Mike Brown revealed that he is using league policy to butter up how Shaquille O’Neal is officiated.
When Marla Ridnour of the Akron Beacon Journal asked about O’Neal’s hard foul on Rondo – the one that occurred midway through the fourth quarter – Brown admitted that the Cavaliers were in correspondence with the league regarding the play.
“I went back and I asked the league, and we haven’t had a response yet,” said Brown. “But I didn’t think that was a foul. Shaq jumped straight up in the air and blocked the shot. Rondo was shooting a one-foot floater, so Rondo’s floater carried him into Shaq. But maybe I’m wrong.”
There were two fouls that occurred between O’Neal and Rondo, and there is a good chance that Brown may have been confusing the two. The latter of the two could have resulted in a flagrant foul if the play was strictly judged by how far Rondo bounced off of the floor after impact. The truth of the matter is that the Celtics point guard is giving up almost 150 pounds in any collision with Cleveland’s No. 33.
Judging by Brown’s memory-based depiction of the events, he could very may well have been thinking about the first of the two.
“It’s a physical game and anybody that runs into Shaq is probably going to get knocked down,” Brown continued. “When we go to the hole, we expect to be challenged. It’s all a part of the game.”
With many of Brown’s peers (including but not limited to Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy and Los Angeles’ Phil Jackson) being fined by the league for verbally questioning the official post-game, last season’s coach of the year opts for a medium that many others take advantage of. Both the Cavaliers and the Bulls sent video to the league during the first-round of the playoffs, and it’s something that Brown feels is a very powerful tool that the league provides.
Only Brown knows which specific foul he was discussing, but the fact of the matter remains that he is standing by the tough, physical defense that his center is providing. All while hoping that the officials will do the same.
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(Image via Scott/WFNY)
17 Comments
I really didn’t think it was that much of a foul if at all, and I’m definitely thinking of the second one. Shaq’s just so huge compared to that little space alien Rondo. I hope there’s more of it where that came from.
Your an idiot, MattC, if you don’t think that second one was a foul. Shaq just threw his fat*** around like usual, and he ran through Rondo. Simple as that.
Mike Brown may have a point, but sometimes, I just wish people could let it go. Hard fouls happen, especially in the playoffs. I just wish it could be a non-issue. It used to be that hard fouls were just “part of the game,” much like throwing inside in baseball. Now, every foul is subject to appeal. Make the call and move on please.
I don’t think Shaq was running anywhere JD. Rondo went into the paint and the Shaqken didn’t like it.
Remember this foul? I miss the days when the games got chippy (i.e. Heat vs. Knicks)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7r6vXeOfyQ
I QUESTION ALL OF YOUR INTELLIGENCES!
AHAHAHA – HE SAID SHAQ WAS RUNNING!!1!
Wow, that is funny.
would that be intelligii?
Boston playing dirty!? NOOOOOOOO never.
@JD make sure you follow our comment policy. You can tell someone you think they are completely wrong, but you can’t call names. Also, veiling swearwords with asterisks isn’t really something we like to see either.
Four quarters of basketball against the Celtics and LeBron hasn’t been raked across the face yet.
That’ll change tonight.
The refs don’t know what to do with Shaq or Dwight Howard…
The 2nd foul really didn’t look close to flagrant; it was just a case of a little man running into a brick wall.
Also, #2 stole my handle and posted like a jerk with it…and chance I can call a flagrant posting on him?
@The Other Tim – Sheed got him pretty good across the face didn’t he? Weak attempt at ball and then a sort of “Rick Jamesian” gesture towards the right orbital.
@ JD – Can’t find youtube footage of the clip. From what I remember (and I could be wrong), Shaq was pretty stationary and took a healthy swat at the ball and caught a bit of Rondo. Just because the guy landed hard doesn’t mean it was a hard foul. I’ve seen Shaq make plenty of harder fouls this season alone, let alone over the course of his career [and especially in the playoffs]. LeBron takes the kind of contact Rondo did on that play nearly every time he goes to the hoop and doesn’t even get the call. He’s just so strong he can’t get bowled over like that, obviously. I hear WNBA is less violent though, maybe you’d like watching that better.
@15 – I watched the play several times on DVR and from what I saw, Shaq was moving on that hard foul.
however, he did beat Rondo to the spot (just didn’t stop moving his upper body, the lean is what the foul was called on) and Rondo was a bit out of control when he met the immovable object. there was definitely nothing malicious about the play from Shaq. just a good clean foul that ended up being a hard foul because well Shaq is 2x as big as Rondo.
and was there any chance Rondo didn’t miss that first FT from the way he bounced off the floor? that’s the true test of a good playoff foul.
Honestly, Mike Brown should be angling to keep his job.