A New Hero

Yes he did hit him from behind, but Blakes two shots on Dre were both from behind. Dre retaliated in the same manor – he just combined both of Blake’s cheapshots into one really good one. Also Dre is about half the size of Griffin, and therefore, the fact he went down so hard only means he is very soft :)

If the fouls Blake got away with were accidents, or singular. Too purposefully cheat on consecutive plays is sending a message. “I’m going to keep doing this until you stop me.” He was asking to be stopped. It is laughable to think he would stop if the refs were not even calling the infractions. The shot was justified and the proof is that the refs did not call it either.

about 4-5 times a game, back in the day

Miller wanted Portland to win that game, badly. Even Nate gave ’Dre props during his post game interview

Your bias is showing.

Or what if he killed Blake Griffin? or the whole Clippers team?

The fact is it didn’t happen. It was a dirty play but if you just back down and let a team walk all over you then you pretty much should expect to lose. This wasn’t a jail blazer moment, this was a fighting for a win moment and showing the team is not just giving up.

We saw a few games back where the Blazers were just standing around and almost emotionless as they lost to the Wizards. Atleast they did something this game (not recommending that someone should get hit like that in a game).

As much as it was a dirty play from Andre, Griffin didn’t do his cheap shots for the rest of the game either. Andre did go a bit overboard but Dre is crazy like that. I’d rather that then a Roy who kind of stands around the court while his team loses.

It wouldn’t have worked. Griffin is much larger and heavier. Andre needed to get a running start. Griffin looked like an eight-ball slamming into the corner pocket.

Did anyone notice the look of shock on Griffin’s face after he extricated himself from the second row? Even better, the way Andre stared him down when they were face-to-face again? Andre had his back to the camera, but you could still read his lips: You want a piece of me? Come and get it!

We might lose tonight’s game without Andre, but it probably won’t matter much this season anyway. I guarantee that shot he gave Griffin will prove to be worth it to the rest of the team long-term.

Griffin’s pushing or shoving fouls on Miller were not cheap shots. They weren’t administered as acts intended solely to cause pain. Griffin was simply doing what happens every night somewhere in the NBA beneath the basket. It was nothing more than what Joel might do (and should do occasionally) to establish territory under the basket. They were fouls that should have been called, but weren’t. Again, uncalled fouls like that happen every night somewhere in the NBA, but they aren’t intended to cause pain or hurt an opponent.

What Miller did was an clearly an attempt to cause pain to Griffin to send him a message. Look at Griffin’s head and neck whip-lash after he was bulldozed by Miller. It was totally out of proportion to Miller being shoved around under the basket. He (and Miller) is lucky Griffin didn’t suffer a severe injury. I’m certain it was not Miller’s intent to cause Griffin an injury. He undoubtedly just intended to hit Griffin very hard, to cause a little pain, but not to injure. But it was reckless, because Miller can’t calibrate the intensity of the force he applied by purposely bulldozing into Griffin’s back to cause him pain, and he can’t calculate the extent of the injury he might cause by doing so. It’s the definition of reckless – and Miller is lucky (as was Griffin) he didn’t severely injure Griffin, else Miller’s season could well have been over.

This isn’t the 1970’s in the NBA when fights were common and taking a punch at a guy in an NBA game wouldn’t even earn a suspension. Although Lucas took a retaliatory punch at Dawkins it was retaliatory for a punch Dawkins had just taken at Gross if you are looking for some sort of moral equivalency. But this isn’t the 1070’s and the NBA wisely cleaned that up after Rudy T. was nearly killed by a Kermit Washington punch. So forget any arguments about how Miller’s act would have been “acceptable” in the “old NBA”. This is now, and what Miller did clearly isn’t acceptable now.

It was also cowardly to hit someone from behind, especially out of proportion to how Miller was shoved in the first place. If Miller wanted to send a message to Griffin or the referees he should have confronted Griffin by getting in face, shoving him in the chest, or doing something else confrontational in front of Griffin to make his point in a less violent and reckless manor. Let the referees pass out some technicals and no one gets hurt.

If you don’t agree with me (and the NBA that suspended Miller and not Griffin), that’s fine. But imagine it had been Baron Davis bulldozing Joel instead and I’ll bet you sing a different tune.

That’s important thing for me. If an athlete has their feet under them, they can take the impact and fall accordingly; it happens all the time. This is the reason I got hopping mad when Przybilla got decked, but laughed my butt off when Griffin fell on his. The danger is, as you said, the whiplash. Otherwise, this wasn’t dangerous. The kid had surgery on his knees, not his neck, and is young enough to recover from a knock delivered by an old fart half his size (he managed a double-double last night).

Had Griffin been in the air when Miller delivered the knock, I’d be as pissed off and disappointed as you seem to be.

Griffin’s chest rather than a cheap shot by shoving him from behind at full speed. Yet, when it’s all said and done, Griffin thankfully didn’t get injured and Miller was justifiably suspended; thus, everyone’s no worse for wear.

Maybe Andre was calling him out verbally about his over aggressive play, and Griffin thought he’d show him a thing or two?
I know I can’t read minds, but Griffin’s body language really looked like he was targeting Andre and trying to make a statement with a stare down after the hit (both hits). I’m not yet sure how I feel about Andre’s hit, but there’s no doubt about it, Andre had to do something.

Besides the two in a row..he also shoved Andre in the 1st quarter..4 minutes into the game.
Am really interested to know what you would do if someone did this to you.

I would have lost respect for Dre if he just kept taking it and didn’t anything. Nothing respectable about getting punked

my respect level has remained constant regarding him.

If his NBA survival was all about earning respect from the people in Mamby-Pamby Land , he would not have made it through 11 NBA seasons
    Miller is a basketball player, making a sustained living and surviving many pounding years of tough NBA basketball. He has the respect of all his peers and thats all that matters .
    You can now add Griffin to that list. Need a tissue?
    

who is well-known for barking the talk and crawling the walk.

As an esteemed English knight would say, “It’s not a question of where he grips it, it’s a simple question of weight ratios!”

seriously…Blake Griffen has probably learned a valuable lesson in this.
Hope so…

The NBA, where men are men and the boys go home early, every April

And if he is allowed to play without getting yanked at the first turn over.
Think it will be harder to scout him than AJ, Bayless….seems to have more moves.

No, it was dirty. But none of are Andre. = No it was dirty. But none of us are Andre

Fisher won’t get it till he PASSES Andre’s number.