I don't know about that... most NBA players can't even fight as well as an NHL player, but Ron looks like he can take care of business no problem. The smarter ones would probably give Artest a pass on the gauntlet just to stay on his good side.
His statement later was that he didn't know the guy was still there, which sounds pretty stupid EXCEPT that after they met briefly Harden was slipping to one side and headed the other way. My guess is he hooked the elbow as a "be on your way" parting gesture added to the chest beating (which admittedly is getting old, we know he's a strong guy and clearly it was a great dunk, leave off the celebration until you've won something) and didn't realize Harden's head was still in range at that point. It is true he didn't look back, may very well not have known he was at such close range. I don't think even Ron is dumb enough to throw that elbow at the head that hard on on purpose, esp. when he had to know 75% of the place was watching him. More likely he was expecting some minor contact on the follow through with the rest of his arm. NBA guys like to do that a lot, Karl Malone was one of the best at the casual forearm swipe that would lay out most opposing players if he caught them square with it. You didn't get in his space on a jump shot without risk of a broken nose.
However, whether the entire hit was 100% intentional or just ended up looking like it through circumstances really doesn't matter much at this point. His prior history combined with Harden's popularity and standing will result in a lengthy and expensive suspension. His multi-year efforts to rehab after the earlier incidents & working on being a better person in the eyes of the league probably will make more than a multi-game suspension & large fine unlikely. He's had problems with his game on and off, but hasn't been on the wrong side of the rules like this since that fight at the Palace.
I had pretty much written the game off when the Lakers went 17 pts. in the hole following that debacle. You have to give the young guys credit for getting them back in the game and Mike Brown for the guts to leave them out there to finish it with his starting center and point guard on the bench for all of the 4th and both overtimes. Not sure about Sessions but Bynum had clearly given up, wasn't rebounding for crap and his energy level was below what you'd expect in an early season game, much less for a critical game leading up to the playoffs. The sad part is I bet he didn't learn much from watching the smaller, less talented Jordan Hill put on a clinic for how much hustle plays can make the difference.
And they can talk about Lebron and Carmelo and their ability to shoot, score, etc. but Kobe is still the best when it comes to the clutch shot... no surprise the majority of NBA coaches picked him as the guy they'd want with the ball with the game on the line.
John
