The NBA is full of incredible athletes.
Some are more athletic than others, but most of them can handle and play against each other without feeling completely overwhelmed by one another, at least in terms of physicality. Among them, however, are some freak-of-nature types that no one can really contain.
Shaquille O’Neal was one of these freaks. There’s no one quite like him these days, but we do have physical specimen like Dwight Howard and LeBron James, who are pretty much unstoppable when they get near the rim.
Unless of course, you foul the living crap out of them.
That’s what LeBron felt happened to him when the Heat played against a feisty Chicago Bulls team that ended Miami’s incredible winning streak. He opened up about the frustrations that some of these “none basketball plays” have been causing him, from The A.P.:
“I’m not sitting here crying about anything,” James said. “I play the game at a high level, I play with a lot of aggression, I understand that some of the plays are on the borderline of a basketball play or not. But sometimes, you know, I don’t know … it’s frustrating.”
“I believe, and I know, that a lot of my fouls are not basketball plays,” James said. “First of all, Kirk Hinrich in the first quarter basically grabbed me with two hands and brought me to the ground. And the last one, Taj Gibson was able to collar me around my shoulder and bring me to the ground.
“Those are not basketball plays. And it’s been happening all year. I’ve been able to keep my cool and try to tell Spo, `Let’s not worry about it too much,’ but it is getting to me a little bit.”
His teammate Dwyane Wade also chimed in on the situation:
“I’m surprised he ain’t done it before,” Wade said. “A big guy like that, you don’t really want to see him really start trying to inflict pain on other people. He plays the game the right way. It’s unfortunate.”
James often asks referees why he doesn’t get more calls, given that there often is some level of contact whenever he’s around the rim in particular. Wade likened how James gets officiated to the way Shaquille O’Neal was, in that sometimes isn’t always better to be bigger and stronger than just about everyone else.
“It’s tough but that’s why he is who he is,” Wade said. “You have to deal with it. Tonight, he decided to get back a little bit. I didn’t think it was that bad.”
Plenty around the league didn’t seem to appreciate that someone of LeBron’s size would complain about officiating, including Danny Ainge:
Is LeBron in the wrong for thinking players shouldn’t come after him with dangerous tactics? Players like LeBron and Howard have been gifted with physical attributes that cannot be taught and is a huge advantage when they play the game of basketball. Unfortunately, being bigger and stronger than everyone else can also be somewhat of a curse, as the referees tend to let things slide more when plays or fouls involve these players.
On one hand, it’s understandable that players do what they feel must be done in order to win a ball game. A freight train is coming at them to score a bucket and it’s their job to stop it from happening, so what else are they supposed to do besides foul as hard as they could to prevent a three-point play?
On the other hand, who wants to get clobbered all the time? Just because you’re bigger than everyone else, it doesn’t mean you don’t feel those hacks and whacks all over your body. More importantly, no one wants to feel threatened when they’re simply trying to convert a play on a basketball court. Clearly, LeBron feels it happens too often, and he has the right to feel that way on some nights. He also should have the right to express how he feels about the situation.
Unfortunately, the league tends to frown upon anyone that criticizes officiating, so you’re always taking a risk by stating your opinion in that regard. The best that LeBron can hope for by opening up about this situation is to catch the attention of the referees, in hopes that they will make calls in his favor should these “none basketball fouls” happen in the future, especially in the playoffs.
Onto other news from around the league:
Subsequent week inside soccer cathedrals across the world, qualifying
starts in earnest for FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil , the biggest soccer event
on the world that guarantees to be one of the most watched — and most
collected — sporting functions of all time.
As has become customary, the buildup to following
year’s global soccer showcase will be earmarked by passion, pomp,
pageantry, patriotism, circumstance and stickers.
ROME When Italy gained the 2006 World Cup, then-coach Marcello
Lippi pointed to the team collective as his squad’s strongpoint — and the simple fact that every single ahead scored at the very least a single aim more than
the seven matches attested to that concept.
The leading four teams that qualify in the Premiership graduate
to play the UEFA Championship League. The top two teams enter team stage,
although the third and fourth teams enter the 3rd qualifying
spherical. The latter require to win a two-phased knockout tie
to improve. If the championship is won by a experienced group for Europe, then the League’s UEFA Cup place goes to
the subsequent maximum crew. The optimum staff that does not qualify for the UEFA
Cup can compete in the Intertoto Cup-UEFA, in the pursuing period.
UEFA policies include that the defending champions routinely qualify for the
pursuing year’s competitiveness, irrespective of rating.