Kobe calls out Dahntay Jones

[BD80]

I'm happy that Dahntay's lasted in the NBA this long, but the guy definitely has a history of dirty defense against Kobe. Can you look at this video from the 2009 playoffs and still think last night's foul was unintentional?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFu0V5Lh1lY

If he is so horrible, I'm certain you can come with a whole series of dirty plays in the FOUR years he's played in the NBA between the occurrences, Come on, with all of the Duke haters throughout the world cataloging each transgression, it should be a piece of cake. Right?

Dahntay admitted he was wrong in tripping kobe in 2009. He's played in more than 200 games since then. Probably 6-8 against kobe. One reflexive action 4 years ago is a history of dirty plays?

[JamminJoe]

Check the video again. There were 2 dirty plays in there. How many would it take to convince you?

[BobbyFan]

I'm happy that Dahntay's lasted in the NBA this long, but the guy definitely has a history of dirty defense against Kobe. Can you look at this video from the 2009 playoffs and still think last night's foul was unintentional?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFu0V5Lh1lY

With his team up by 2 in the waning seconds of the game and Dahntay defending the guy who will almost definitely take the final shot, I'm sure his focus is on doing something dirty to a guy he doesn't like. Who cares if he gets called for the foul and Kobe ties the game up at the FT line, that's not something Dahntay would have been concerned with. Right.

[oldnavy]

Only Dahntay knows if this was a "dirty" play. The video does not prove anything one way or the other. Did Dahntay get up under KB? Yes. Did KB kick out his leg? Yes. Can you determine the intent by looking at the video? No.

Kobe believes he knows that DJ did it on purpose. But, it isn't like a punch was thrown, or even like Dahntay went out of his way to extend his foot out. What happened could have happened naturally (these things happen all the time in the normal flow of a game), or it could have been a very subtle "dirty" play.

The league is saying it was a foul, ok. But, was it a "dirty" foul?

Only Dahntay knows for sure.

[_Gary]

Only Dahntay knows if this was a "dirty" play. The video does not prove anything one way or the other. Did Dahntay get up under KB? Yes. Did KB kick out his leg? Yes. Can you determine the intent by looking at the video? No.

Kobe believes he knows that DJ did it on purpose. But, it isn't like a punch was thrown, or even like Dahntay went out of his way to extend his foot out. What happened could have happened naturally (these things happen all the time in the normal flow of a game), or it could have been a very subtle "dirty" play.

The league is saying it was a foul, ok. But, was it a "dirty" foul?

Only Dahntay knows for sure.

I certainly agree. There's no way possible to judge "intent" from the video. I do think Dahntay purposely crowded the landing space just to get that extra little mental advantage that comes from such a play (if you've ever played basketball you know how disconcerting that is when you are up in the air shooting the ball), but there's simply no way to know if he intended to try and hurt Kobe. Having said that, I do believe there's also something to be said for one player knowing whether another is trying to do something dirty or not. I've played way too much ball in my day to dismiss a comment like Kobe's (and I'm no Laker or Kobe fan, so that's not where I'm coming from) as mearly sour grapes. I've played with guys that I knew were being dirty even though others didn't pick up on it. It's not like you can't ever discern such things as a player. Officials and fans can be oblivious to such things, but when I hear players make those comments I don't just automatically dismiss them.

[SlapTheFloor]

Dahntay did have some history of being around this type of play in college. There was the screen on Justin Gray that led to Gray's broken jaw. There was the rebound against UNC that busted (broke?) Raymond Felton's nose. Not saying either of those plays were definitely intentional, but they always worried me a little. And I clearly remember a rebound where he grabbed a UVA player and fell down while pulling him to the floor. He made it look like the UVA player had knocked him down, and, sure enough, the referees called a foul on Virgnia. Dahntay got up laughing. Really didn't like that.