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Controversy?

Over at NBA.com, this guy John Schuhmann blogs from time to time.  He mentions the Rudy dunk ON Dwight as being one of the best highlights from one of the best games ever. 

 

 

Star-divide

At the end of the piece, you'll notice one guy comments:

Kobe Bryant will admit that the dunk that Rudy had on Dwight was his mistake, so let's not make it like Howard was there on time to contest the dunk. Looks to me like he is almost defending him after the dunk.

Looks to me like this guy didn't even watch that game and he is deriving his conclusion from this still photograph.  Had he taken the time to watch the dunk in its entirety, he would likely have to admit that it qualifies as a baptizing for both Rudy and Dwight. Rudy did something every European wing player could only dream of, and Dwight got dunked on for the first time in international competition.  

For me, this dunk is an obvious facial and one of the many dunks I will never forget for as long as I live.  Yes, Kobe went for that old-man-ymca-slap-the-back-of-your-hand-trick and looked ridiculous in the process.  It's a move he would rarely make in the NBA against great guards with excellent ball-handling abilities.  He would only look to make that move against an inferior ball-handler, which leads me to believe that he didn't have as much respect for Rudy as has been suggested.  Kobe also looked bad as he held up his hands (except unlike Jordan hitting a 3 in Cliff's face, his teammate got dunked on because of his own error) while Rudy hung from the rim for the And1. He was probably astonished because he thought that even if his gamble didn't result in a steal or turnover, Dwight had his back and could stop anyone from getting to the rack. Kobe's blunder was therefore caused by a combination of underestimating Rudy and overestimating Dwight (which he knows better than to do since even he dunked on Dwight...I guess he overestimates himself too because even Rudy can dunk on Dwight).  

And about Dwight:  What truly makes this a facial, posterizing, "dunk on", or parachute as I like to call it, is the simple fact that Dwight committed wholly to stopping it and came up empty ended (And1).  If you watch the above-provided link, you'll notice that Dwight takes a full two steps before somewhat awkwardly jumping off his left leg.  He doesn't explode from the floor and he's coming from an awkward angle, but he still fully commits to the block attempt with his left hand and comes up about 6-12 inches shy of the soaring ball.  Dwight was also out of position and came too far out from under the basket, perhaps not giving enough credit to the speed of Spain's best player.  

I hope this quells any improbable debate of whether Superman did or did not get dunked on, posterized, parachuted, t-bagged, etc.  The new debate in my opinion is whether in fact the real Superman was the one dunking.  In any case, here's a poll for you so you can click your mouse too and feel interactive:

 

 

Poll
Did Dwight Howard get dunked on by Rudy Fernandez?
Yes
92 votes
Of course
105 votes
It could have been CGI
33 votes

230 votes | Poll has closed

Comment 21 comments  |  0 recs  | 

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Comments

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That "controversy" already cost us dear BEdger JamesOn taking some time off :-(

Maybe we shouldn’t go back there. http://www.blazersedge.com/2008/8/28/602892/junk-drawer-08-28-08

It was a great scene that demonstrated Rudy’s skills, and personally I don’t care about the semantics if he dunked on Howard or just went around him. I especially like the scene for Kobe complaining and lifting his arms, as if it wasn’t his fault in the first place.

Odenied: Asked whether he noticed Oden favoring his right knee, Frye dismissed it entirely. "He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors."

by Norsktroll on Sep 3, 2008 2:46 PM PDT reply actions  

Honestly, he didnt dunk on Howard

He beat Howard to the spot, rose and had the balls to take on Howard, which is something in itself. Then he threw down before Howard could block it. James/JDelN was right. It was a fantastic dunk. What you should be commenting on was the reality that Kobe got routinely burned by Rudy. Not ONE time did Kobe stop Rudy when he wanted to drive. While I think thats more a statement of Kobe’s overrated by a mile defense, that was a weak side block and not the same as like Carters dunk over the big german stiff. That was IN THE FACE! like Prince Akeem

"Why would we lie to ourselves dude?"
"Be excellent to each other."
"All we are is dust in the wind, dude."
"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K."

The Wisdom of Bill S Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan

by GreatOden'sRaven on Sep 3, 2008 2:52 PM PDT reply actions  

The stiff is French, named Frederic Weis, and was just traded from the Knicks for Patrick Ewing Jr. to Houston

First good deal for the Knicks in ages.

Odenied: Asked whether he noticed Oden favoring his right knee, Frye dismissed it entirely. "He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors."

by Norsktroll on Sep 3, 2008 3:04 PM PDT up reply actions  

The VC over Weis dunk

Has to be my favorite dunk of all time.

Just jumping over some Euro stiff, 7’2" even, JUMPING OVER HIM and dunking it home… man I love that dunk. THAT is dunking on, over, and through someone. Complete domination.

YouTube is an amazing innovation just for the simple fact we can watch that dunk anytime we want.

I’m not that crazy about the slam dunk contest, but I love awesome IN-GAME dunks.

Mortimer

by Mortimer on Sep 3, 2008 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions  

Agree completely.

The referenced vid shows Fernandez is already between Howard and the basket. It doesn’t show where Kobe is, but if Bryant was fronting Rudy at the time, then this play is more impressive for showing how Fernandez can get that first step on a good defender, than it is for dunking on Howard. Not that the dunk portion of the play was unimpressive. Rudy also required speed to keep Howard from closing soon enough and he needed to protect the ball, which he did. It’s also impressive how he didn’t shy away from the contact, earning a FT attempt in the process.

I think all this play will really signify is that NBA players may end up initially granting Fernandez a extra step or two to defend against the drive. Which should help get him open jumpers. It may also reinforce Rudy’s confidence level at being able to go up against anybody in the league.

hakkaa päälle !

by timg56 on Sep 4, 2008 8:50 AM PDT up reply actions  

Yeah the thing of it is

Dwight went after the dunk because he thought he could get it, severly underestimated the skill of Rudy and paid for it. Anytime you commit yourself to a play that much in a game, you are exposing yourself to get posterized, which is exaclty what happened.

by SpyderRyder on Sep 3, 2008 3:48 PM PDT reply actions  

As a coach...

… I’d be extremely pissed if this was the mindset of any of my players. Any guy who decides whether to commit or not on a play based on the potential for being “posterized” would find himself either on the bench or another team.

hakkaa päälle !

by timg56 on Sep 4, 2008 8:52 AM PDT up reply actions  

Kobe gambled...

for the steal and when he wasn’t able to pick the ball away from Rudy, that just left Dwight between Rudy and the basket. Rudy easily went around the big guy on the perimeter (what guard with any driving skills couldn’t?) No one came over to cover after Howard got beat so Howard had to play catch up and try to block from behind. So….Kobaby cheated on D, got burned, then Rudy beat Howard off the dribble, THEN dunked on his head. Boo-yah!

by MattyDread on Sep 3, 2008 3:49 PM PDT reply actions  

Rudy had a beeline to the hoop and took it, he didnt have to go around howard

Thats why howard is coming from an angle

"Why would we lie to ourselves dude?"
"Be excellent to each other."
"All we are is dust in the wind, dude."
"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K."

The Wisdom of Bill S Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan

by GreatOden'sRaven on Sep 5, 2008 3:28 PM PDT up reply actions  

How do you say...

…BOOM shaka-laka in spanish?

BLAZERS will be GREAT in '08!

by Brannon49 on Sep 3, 2008 5:57 PM PDT reply actions  

BOOM shaka-laka

(I’m just sayin’…. in spanish!)

Ball Don't Lie

by bothteamsplayedhard on Sep 4, 2008 7:23 AM PDT up reply actions  

I don't really think Dwight got straight dunked on.

D-ho was well out of position and did what he could to cut the angle but wasn’t able to make it.

If you're paddling upstream in a canoe and a wheel falls off, how many pancakes fit in a doghouse? None! Ice cream has no bones!

by Arby on Sep 3, 2008 10:29 PM PDT reply actions  

No dwight is chasing him and caught up after he grabbed the rim

 look at the difference with the kobe Dunk that is what I consider being dunked on But it was, is, and always will be a sick dunk.

by tevisthe4th on Sep 4, 2008 1:06 AM PDT reply actions  

It's not a facial

And I think it’s only a half dunk on. I think if you’re in the picture, then you were dunked on, but Howard could have just stopped and not been in the photo, like so many defenders to just to avoid being “posterized.” So I see JamesOn’s point. I think a facial needs the ball to come close to the defenders face after it exits the net.

Did I ever tell you you're my hero?

by tominhawaii on Sep 4, 2008 6:02 AM PDT reply actions  

always

It’s always the guy in the picture who is victimized by the facial dunks. Whether Kobe’s D broke down or he just simply got beat. Howard was trying to help out and you see his mug on the screen. He (Howard) is the victim of this Dunk.

Inallthetime

by inallthetime on Sep 4, 2008 7:15 AM PDT reply actions  

Twas a dunk, it landed on Howard

How is that not getting dunked on?

Please list the criteria for getting dunked on. Such as: “Offensive Player must elevate flat-footed with no dribble and Defender must have perfect position between man-with-ball and hoop.”

?

'77

by LaoTzu on Sep 4, 2008 4:06 PM PDT reply actions  

Player being dunked on must be in front of player doing the dunking..

not just trying to recover on help from the side because his “all star defender” got beat to the rim

"Why would we lie to ourselves dude?"
"Be excellent to each other."
"All we are is dust in the wind, dude."
"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K."

The Wisdom of Bill S Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan

by GreatOden'sRaven on Sep 5, 2008 3:29 PM PDT up reply actions  

Howard was making contact and Rudy had to hold him off to dunk.

That is being dunked on. Sure it’s not the same as charging a guy from the front and slamming it in his face but it’s still being dunked on. Howard did the right thing, which is why he was dunked on. Most players would have half-arsed it to avoid getting embarrassed. I’ve always given Howard credit for that play and said it was Kobe’s fault, but it remains Howard that got posterized regardless of who’s fault it was.

by Bskey on Sep 4, 2008 10:12 PM PDT reply actions  

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