Raja Bell Suspended For Game 6...

[sly fly]

per Gambo.

 

[jibikao]

Not surprised and it's probably better for team.

 

[BillsCarnage]

and one of Kobe's fouls has been upgraded to a flagrant 1.

we hoped he wouldn't be, but shouldn't be surprised by it.

 

[Bada0Bing]

At least it was just one. He'll be back for game 7.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Nothing is online about this...I checked espn.com and nba.com.

 

[arthurracoon]

per Gambo.

dang.

well, we better win it for him then

 

[sly fly]

The Lakers still have no one who can guard Nash.

Double Kobe. Alternate Barbosa/James Jones.

Or... play a match-up zone, w/ a box&1 on Kobe.

Mike D and his staff will come up with something.

Time for Tim Thomas, James Jones, and Eddie House to step up.

Frankly, I still think the Lakers butt-pucker factor will be off the charts. Let's see how they react to a game they're "supposed" to win.

 

[asudevil83]

well if it is what it is now.

clear bias of the lakers over the suns. game 6 is going to be a challenge for us. i do have confidence in our team though. we seem to have figured out how to score. the big thing is throwing an effective double team on kobe and rotating well. if we can do that, then we should be able to take game 6.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

How about this for defensive match-ups

Brown- Thomas
Odom- Diaw
Walton- Jones
Kobe- Marion
Parker- Nash

Now we have a reason to take Marion off Odom

 

[elindholm]

No big surprise, and hardly grounds for complaint. But I still can't understand why Brown got off the hook.

 

[asudevil83]

No big surprise, and hardly grounds for complaint. But I still can't understand why Brown got off the hook.

that's my only complaint also.

 

[TucsonDevil]

No big surprise, and hardly grounds for complaint. But I still can't understand why Brown got off the hook.

It's not normally like you to miss something so obvious... Brown was wearing a "Laker" jersey.

 

[sly fly]

How about this for defensive match-ups

Brown- Thomas
Odom- Diaw
Walton- Jones
Kobe- Marion
Parker- Nash

Now we have a reason to take Marion off Odom

There you go. Now, that's called contribution!

The pressure is placed squarely on LA's shoulders to close out PHX Thursday. If they don't, they have to come back to an extremely hostile environment with Raja providing a HUGE emotional return.

Why should PHX be scared of LA?

 

[devilfan02]

that's my only complaint also.

Dido. What Brown did was much more dangerous and he got off. If Raja threw a 'bow like that to Kobe then stood over and mocked him, Raja would def be gone for more than 1 game. DOUBLE STANDARD

 

[devilfan02]

There you go. Now, that's called contribution!

The pressure is placed squarely on LA's shoulders to close out PHX Thursday. If they don't, they have to come back to an extremely hostile environment with Raja providing a HUGE emotional return.

Why should PHX be scared of LA?

I'm a obviously a huge Suns fan but I think the extremely hostile enviroment resides in L.A., especially after the physical game 5. Bickley even said on Monday that L.A. was the loudest NBA venue he's ever been to and that they make our fans look like crickets. I hope that when we bring game 7 back to the desert that the crowd goes crazy and shows LA what PHX is all about

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Nothing is online about this...I checked espn.com and nba.com.

Still nothing on espn.com or nba.com

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Can't say that he didn't deserve to be suspended, but the league is definitely showing a double standard with the Lakers, as they always have.

 

[sunsfn]

Nothing yet on the NBA wire service!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?sportId=46

 

[Evil Ash]

Nothing yet on the NBA wire service!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?sportId=46

Just reported on ESPNews. Hope the league can explain the double standard ... and thats my only complaint

 

[jbeecham]

It's still not on ESPN or NBA.com

Edit: now it's there.........

I still don't agree with the double standard even though I can see why Bell is suspended. I say his foul is much less dangerous than Waltons and not as bad as Kwame's because he didn't stand over him.

 

[a red stapler]

How about this for defensive match-ups

Brown- Thomas
Odom- Diaw
Walton- Jones
Kobe- Marion
Parker- Nash

Now we have a reason to take Marion off Odom

That's a solid line-up but i would put marion on Walton because I think he would Eat walton up all night and still be able to help out on Kobe

 

[B-Dogg]

the problem with either jones or marion on kobe is the lateral movement, the only player capable of keeping up with him lateraly is Barbosa who has actually done a fairly decent job on him and expect him to start off on Kobe with immediate double team help...

 

[sunsfn]

Updated: May 3, 2006, 6:02 PM ET

Bell suspended one game for takedown of Bryant

ESPN.com news services

The Phoenix Suns forced a Game 6 with the Lakers, but Raja Bell won't be on the court for them in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Bell was suspended for throwing Kobe Bryant to the floor in Tuesday night's game. He was hit with his second technical foul with 7:33 left in the game for the takedown and was ejected.
The Arizona Republic reported that Suns executive Jerry Colangelo called Stu Jackson as soon as the game ended to get a dialogue started with the NBA's top disciplinarian.
"We don't believe this was an isolated incident or play," Colangelo told the newspaper. "There were a number of things that led up to that flagrant foul. Things that have happened the whole series. A lot of elbows. It's been a very physical matchup between Raja and Kobe. I think Raja was pretty explicit. He lost his head. He overreacted, but a lot of things led to it."
Bell and Bryant also had been called for a double-technical in the second quarter.
"It's been a pretty physical series, and at that point in time I had caught another elbow in the jaw and I lost my head and overreacted to it," Bell said. "It could have cost my team and for that I'm sorry."
After Bell threw Bryant down, he pointed to the Lakers' bench and yelled, "That's your foul."
"It's a physical game," Bryant said. "I'm not trying to go out there and elbow somebody, that's not the way I play. If you get elbowed, you still have to keep your cool. I get elbowed all the time."
Steve Nash said Bell's foul was no worse than some the Lakers committed earlier in the series, so he didn't believe a suspension was warranted.
"They're going to single one out because it's on Kobe? To me that's a shame," Nash said.
"There were a couple of elbows thrown," The Suns' Boris Diaw said. "I saw Raja on the floor twice before he got ejected. Raja got hit many times. It probably was frustration."

 

[KloD]

Booooooooooooo!

 

[hsandhu]

This might actually be a blessing, because if raja was there he would've incited the crowd and really juiced the lakers up. They may have a little emotional come down without him there to go after.
It was clear reading the quotes from odom they really wanted to go straight at him.