Kobe calls out Dahntay Jones

[BD80]

Dahntay Jones defending Kobe on game ending shot. Kobe fades away, Dahntay lunges to get hand up toward Kobe's face, but doesn't leave the ground. Dahntay's foot ends up under Kobe, who lands on Dahntay and injures an ankle. Kobe is pissed, saying that it was intended to hurt him, as he was fading away and thus there was no legitimate reason for Dahntay's foot to be under him when he landed.

on ESPN now, should be online soon

[Reisen]

From SI:

Bryant tweeted that Jones should have been called for a foul on the play for sliding underneath him after the shot attempt.

“Dangerous play that should have been called,” he wrote. “Period.”


Jones disputed that assessment on his Twitter account.

“Tape doesn’t lie,” he wrote. “Ankle was turned on the floor after the leg kick out that knocked him off balance. I would never try to hurt the man. … Leg kick that makes contact with a defensive player is an [offensive] foul. Period. The NBA changed that rule [two years] ago. Stop it!”

Replays showed Bryant’s ankle roll over, and he initially remained motionless on the court as the clock stopped with 2.6 seconds remaining. Bryant eventually walked off under his own power after being attended to by trainer Gary Vitti. Yahoo! Sports reported that Bryant called the injury his “worst sprain since 2000.”

http://nba.si.com/2013/03/13/kobe-bryant-ankle-injury-lakers-hawks/?sct=hp_t2_a4&eref=sihp

[licc85]

I watched the video about 10 times . . . gonna have to call BS on Kobe. His ankle actually twisted when his foot touched the floor, he did make contact with Dahntay, but it was mostly because he was flailing with his legs trying to create a foul that wasn't there. Glad to see an official not call a foul in that situation.

[DukieInBrasil]

Kobe's whining about not winning. Waaaah, waaaaah, waaaaah......

[slower]

You can interpret it either way. Sure looked like Jones was moving into him as he was in the air.

[moonpie23]

i love kobe, but call a Wambulance for him on this one...

[NovaScotian]

i think i need to side with kobe for this one. this is a pretty dirty move that is the only thing that kept bruce bowen's career alive for so long

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drPQkEsM8uM

[jay]

i think i need to side with kobe for this one. this is a pretty dirty move that is the only thing that kept bruce bowen's career alive for so long

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drPQkEsM8uM

If Jones had the kind of reputation as a dirty player that Bowen did, that would be one thing.

But he doesn't. Looked like a natural move to me.

[_Gary]

Let me state upfront I am the furthest thing from a Laker's fan one could be, but I honestly think Kobe has a beef on this one. I love Dahntay, but he did push that right leg of his further into the space Kobe would normally be coming down than he needed to. Anyone that's ever played basketball knows how disconcerting it is for a guy to kinda undercut you when you are in the air. I think Dahntay was fine until that last little bit when he really stretched his right leg/foot out under Kobe's feet. All I know is that I'd have been ticked too. I'm not saying it was terribly egregious, but I do think there was an unnecessary extension of the right leg/foot to crowd the landing space. Just my two cents.

[superdave]

http://nba.si.com/2013/03/13/kobe-bryant-ankle-injury-lakers-hawks/?sct=hp_t2_a4&eref=sihp

Cannot see to much from the video here. Dahntay keeps moving into Kobe, but you would excpect a defender to be aggressive on a last second shot. I did not see Dahntay do anything out of the ordinary, and I've not heard of doing the Bruce Bowne thing in the past.

[slower]

but he did push that right leg of his further into the space Kobe would normally be coming down than he needed to. Anyone that's ever played basketball knows how disconcerting it is for a guy to kinda undercut you when you are in the air. I think Dahntay was fine until that last little bit when he really stretched his right leg/foot out under Kobe's feet. All I know is that I'd have been ticked too. I'm not saying it was terribly egregious, but I do think there was an unnecessary extension of the right leg/foot to crowd the landing space. Just my two cents.

This. Exactly.

[Bluedog]

Jalen Rose was proud of purposefully injuring Kobe in the 2000 finals....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/jalen-rose-jovially-admits-trying-hurt-kobe-bryant-195156024--nba.html

Falling on the foot of a defender during a jump shot can definitely be dangerous.

[COYS]

This. Exactly.

Plus, these guys have a bit of history. Anyone recall Dahntay's trip of Kobe back in the '09 playoffs? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6BWYMjTs3c Fast forward to the 25 second mark. Whether or not you think that Kobe is right about last night's incident, he is not making this claim out of the blue. I'm sure Kobe remembers "the trip."

Personally, I don't see anything too egregious by Dahntay on this most recent play, even if it is a little borderline. But if you're Kobe and you've been intentionally tripped by someone in the past, you're going to be far more likely to assume the worst on any borderline call involving that same defender in the future.

[BD80]

Bowens was providing commentary on SportsCenter when the issue arose, and he admitted that the messaging services would light up when he said it, but he thought it was the kind of play the NBA office should look at. Bowen freely admitted that it was his type of play, although he seemed to try to distinguish it by saying Dahntay never elevated on the closeout. Bowen said the NBA office should consider a player's reputation, to see if this was a one-time deal or part of a pattern which could get players hurt. He seemed to put Dahntay into the suspect category as one who has a reputation for aggressive defense.

As for Dahntay's leg sliding under kobe, part of that is Dahntay turning to box out and lean toward a potential rebound.

I like Dahntay sticking to his guns, particularly calling kobe out for the leg kick he uses to get fouls called on jump shots. If kobe suggests that his landing spot is his alone on a fade-away, then he should not be allowed to "occupy" the space between his jump and his landing by flailing his legs forward.

[Starter]

Yeah, I don't know. After watching a few times, I think Kobe has legitimate beef here. And I don't know about Dahntay's assertion that Kobe was trying to draw a foul; his leg kick wasn't excessive, he was fading away to get separation, and I'd imagine he was more focused on hitting the game-tying shot. Kobe needs a phantom foul in that situation? Come on.

[brevity]

So, DBR considers Kobe a provisional Blue Devil, subject to claims made against actual Blue Devils? Wanted to make sure I understood the group mindset here. (And to those of you who say "Kobe has a beef," are you saying that ironically?)

Meanwhile, ESPN's SportsNation unsurprisingly puts the issue to a vote. Only the state of California votes pro-Kobe. The other 49 states, and the world, are against him this time. Yet another reason to quietly root for Lex Luthor's plan to create new beachfront property.

Full disclosure: I made up my mind on Kobe Bryant when he was thinking about skipping college. High school guards had no place in the NBA in 2006. Felt justified when he was traded to a glamour team on draft night and was voted an All-Star starter despite not being a Lakers starter. Then the rape accusation sealed the deal. Everything since has been irrelevant. So, yeah, when it comes to this subject, I'm that guy. And I shall not be moved.

[Starter]

So, DBR considers Kobe a provisional Blue Devil, subject to claims made against actual Blue Devils? Wanted to make sure I understood the group mindset here. (And to those of you who say "Kobe has a beef," are you saying that ironically?)

Meanwhile, ESPN's SportsNation unsurprisingly puts the issue to a vote. Only the state of California votes pro-Kobe. The other 49 states, and the world, are against him this time. Yet another reason to quietly root for Lex Luthor's plan to create new beachfront property.

Full disclosure: I made up my mind on Kobe Bryant when he was thinking about skipping college. High school guards had no place in the NBA in 2006. Felt justified when he was traded to a glamour team on draft night and was voted an All-Star starter despite not being a Lakers starter. Then the rape accusation sealed the deal. Everything since has been irrelevant. So, yeah, when it comes to this subject, I'm that guy. And I shall not be moved.

Haha, I wish I was that clever with the Kobe beef line, I think it was just a subconscious punchline. That's the difference between me and real lyricists like Kanye West: http://rapgenius.com/Ghostface-killah-back-like-that-remix-lyrics#note-172009

Even before the rape allegation, I never actually particularly liked Kobe, would-be Duke connection or not. I do like his sneakers, respect him as a living legend and think he's a fantastic player whose game has matured impressively over the years. Conversely, I got to know Dahntay a little and like him a great deal. None of those things seem particularly relevant when assessing last night's play.

[niveklaen]

Looks a lot like the play where Kyrie hurt his ankle against Butler a couple years back. Even as emotionally invested and passionate as we were as fans, most of us conceded that the Butler player did nothing dirty and that it was just an unfortunate, inadvertant injury. I view this the same way

[Starter]

Looks a lot like the play where Kyrie hurt his ankle against Butler a couple years back. Even as emotionally invested and passionate as we were as fans, most of us conceded that the Butler player did nothing dirty and that it was just an unfortunate, inadvertant injury. I view this the same way

Just for the record, there wasn't actually a shot attempt involved in Kyrie's toe injury (http://wwwcache.wralsportsfan.com/asset/basketball/college_basketball/2010/12/08/8747512/kyrie-600x450.jpg), so kind of a different thing. I agree, that was a freak thing, though that whole game I remember cringing when Matt Howard's floppy, haphazard, flailing game came anywhere near a Duke player, especially after he decapitated Kyle Singler in the Championship Game, then Kyrie's thing happened. SMH.

[brevity]

Haha, I wish I was that clever with the Kobe beef line, I think it was just a subconscious punchline. That's the difference between me and real lyricists like Kanye West: http://rapgenius.com/Ghostface-killah-back-like-that-remix-lyrics#note-172009

Even before the rape allegation, I never actually particularly liked Kobe, would-be Duke connection or not. I do like his sneakers, respect him as a living legend and think he's a fantastic player whose game has matured impressively over the years. Conversely, I got to know Dahntay a little and like him a great deal. None of those things seem particularly relevant when assessing last night's play.

Dude, I thought you did it again! But Dahntay Jones wears Nike, not Converse. Interestingly, he wears Kobe's shoes.

[Sir Stealth]

This is only a story because it involves Kobe. Dahntay was just contesting the shot, trying to close out on the fadeaway. Kobe and the Lakers are probably as frustrated about losing to an undermanned Hawks team (missing Smith, Teague, Pachulia and starting Johan Petro and Anthony Tolliver) as they are about the injury and need someone to blame for a terrible performance. And for Bruce Bowen to say anything about it....please.

[johnb]

Dahntay is our guy, so, being a fan, I'll side with him.

As for the facts, in watching the clip ten times, I see hard-nosed defense. DJ's foot did slide up a little, but it was a good effort, and I didn't see intent to harm. Kobe also didn't land really on his foot. At best, he landed on the back of a heel. I figure Kobe is getting old and is struggling with the mediocrity of aging--of course, he's still a rich-as-heck all-NBA player so his struggles aren't quite the struggles of most of us, but he's still struggling. As for the complaint, boo-hoo; they play a semi-contact sport. Suck it up.

All of that is colored by my still seeing him as someone who got away with a rape. If he'd gone to Duke, I'd think differently about both the rape allegation and the twisted ankle, because I think he would have learned a better sense of interpersonal control and wouldn't have been part of the Colorado fiasco and also wouldn't whine when injured.

[BobbyFan]

I've seen replays from multiple angles, and there's nothing egregious about it - certainly nothing that would allow me to conclude anything about Dahntay's motives.

[Starter]

Dude, I thought you did it again! But Dahntay Jones wears Nike, not Converse. Interestingly, he wears Kobe's shoes.

LOL! You're starting to make me wonder if everything I say is an unwitting double entendre.

I'm a sneaker nerd, and this great observation fascinated me! So I checked it out: Dahntay does, indeed, wear Kobes (http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/dahntay-jones-of-the-atlanta-hawks-and-kenneth-faried-of-news-photo/163110275). Last night, though? KD IVs (http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kobe-bryant-of-the-los-angeles-lakers-shoots-against-news-photo/163644979). Smart move not wearing your trash-talking nemesis' sneakers so as not to hear about it all night.

[Starter]

If I've learned one thing in life, it's not to go against Charles Oakley (http://twitter.com/CharlesOakley34/statuses/312226406027378689). (Great guy in person, but still. You don't mess with him.) I'm going to let it go.

[gotoguy]

I've seen replays from multiple angles, and there's nothing egregious about it - certainly nothing that would allow me to conclude anything about Dahntay's motives.

Watched Sports Center while working out this morning. Haven't seen so much coverage of a Hawks game this year and it was all Kobe. Nice win for the undermanned Hawks after the drubbing the night before in Miami. As for Kobe. Shut up and play hockey.

[devilirium]

Perhaps, I'm a lone wolf re:Dahntay. I was pretty happy when he left Duke. The tripping of Kobe has no place in the game, and extending your leg such that a shooter will sprain his ankle is nothing new. Grant Hill made an assertion several years ago that Dantay tried to shorten his career with the same brand of Rodmaneque tactics. What Dahntay is doing now has been an extension of how he played at Duke ( ask UVa's Jason Clark about him). I'm not surprised. Low rent/ cheap tactics. Give me Tyler Thornton any day of the week over Jones.

[cato]

Okay, somebody's got to do it, so I guess it'll be me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOisVIE5NR8

[gus]

All of that is colored by my still seeing him as someone who got away with a rape. If he'd gone to Duke, I'd think differently about both the rape allegation

Kobe admitted publicly that his victim did not consent. Where he did or didn't go to school should have no bearing at all on how you view it. He'd still be a rapist if he'd won 4 championships at Duke.

[devilirium]

Okay, somebody's got to do it, so I guess it'll be me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOisVIE5NR8

That was a great play no doubt..the play that I was referring to happened in Durham. Gifted player, for sure.

[BigZ]

As a die hard Laker fan I was watching the game live and thought nothing of the player other than hoping Kobe wasn't hurt. Did not think it was dirty or a foul, but do believe the Lakers should have been at the foul line with a chance to tie the game b/c Metta was thrown out of the way by a Hawk getting the rebound.

[JamminJoe]

With Dahntay's repuation I gotta believe that was intentional. That kind of dirty play is very easy to disguise.

[Des Esseintes]

With Dahntay's repuation I gotta believe that was intentional. That kind of dirty play is very easy to disguise.

I unfortunately have to agree. Look at it this way: it's a game-deciding shot. Dahntay very well may not have been trying to injure Kobe there, but as Gary noted, a foot under your landing spot will get in a shooter's head and disrupt the shot. His foot was there to worry Kobe about injury. That's why Bowen did what he did. Not to hurt people but rather to get them thinking about injuries instead of follow-through and ball rotation. It's irresponsible and dangerous, but the Spurs won a fistful of championships starting a guy with almost no offensive game.

To his immense credit, Dahntay has fashioned a decade-long NBA career for himself, something I think few would have expected after his first season or two. He's stuck around in the league in large part by performing as a defensive specialist, a dirty work guy. Sometimes, dirty work means actual dirty work. Should it have a place in the game? Quite possibly not, but his role is one many teams find useful.

[toooskies]

The first thing to be said is, Kobe put himself at risk. His non-sprained ankle is above Dahntay's waist, and it's not because Kobe has a giant vertical. If the leg kick is an illegal play as Dahntay said, it's doubly a risk. I have no idea if kicking like that is necessary or not, but all of Kobe's weight was going to land on that one ankle, off balance, regardless of where Dahntay's feet were. Maybe he doesn't get injured if Dahntay's foot doesn't end up where it did, but on the other hand he might've sprained it just as badly.

Secondly, it's clear Dahntay put his foot there with a purpose, although it's not clear what that purpose was. He may have actually thought that it was a safe place to put his foot. But his momentum was clearly about to carry him into Kobe if he didn't stop, and that's what he did-- he stopped from making too much body contact on a last-second shot by putting his foot forward to guarantee he stopped himself. It could've been a legit move to prevent a foul.

Suffice it to say, Dahntay's the only one who knows if there was intent to injure or if the incident was an accident. Kobe took an off-balance jumper and Dahntay played pretty good D.

[BD80]

Wow! The NBA is sure stroking kobe's, ahem, ... ego.

Official release:


With 3.9 seconds remaining in the Atlanta Hawks’ 96-92 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on March 13, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant attempted a jump shot over the Hawks’ Dahntay Jones. After review at the league office, video replay confirmed that referees missed a foul call on Jones as he challenged Bryant’s shot and did not give him the opportunity to land cleanly back on the floor. Bryant should have been granted two free throws.

No mention of kobe's leg kick?

kobe is getting the full mj treatment.

[devilirium]

So fadeaway jumpers are risk incurring moves, and in this case Kobe should take the blame here? Wow, I thought I'd seen it all.

[Newton_14]

Just for the record, there wasn't actually a shot attempt involved in Kyrie's toe injury (http://wwwcache.wralsportsfan.com/asset/basketball/college_basketball/2010/12/08/8747512/kyrie-600x450.jpg), so kind of a different thing. I agree, that was a freak thing, though that whole game I remember cringing when Matt Howard's floppy, haphazard, flailing game came anywhere near a Duke player, especially after he decapitated Kyle Singler in the Championship Game, then Kyrie's thing happened. SMH.

The left-handed Tyler Hanswalk, bull in a china shop type player...

[throatybeard]

I finally saw this. I'm not a referee, but it's clear to me that:

a) It's DEFINITELY a foul on Jones

but

b) He did not intend to undercut Bryant. His body is turning away from the contact when Bryant comes down on him.

It's interesting--just the other day we had someone on this board, sorry I forget who, saying that Dean Smith coached his players to undercut guys up in the air.

[Des Esseintes]

All this talk of Dahntay has also brought on a lot of reminiscing about Bruce Bowen. I really enjoy the Spurs these days and dig Popovich's irascibility. I had forgotten why I hated them (and him) during their high period. Now I remember (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFvk4qHkT10). Something to keep in mind the next time you hear an encomium to the fundamentally sound beauty that is Spurs basketball. (To be fair, they aren't like that today. But they don't win titles right and left today, either.) That flying kick to the face is really something else.

[JamminJoe]

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

[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.