Shaquille O’Neal Foul Upgraded to Flagrant?
Per the Washington Post:
According to two league sources, the NBA will upgrade Shaquille O’Neal’s crushing personal foul against DeShawn Stevenson to a flagrant foul. With the Wizards leading 41-28 with about seven minutes left in the second period, Stevenson was driving to the basket when O’Neal stepped up and knocked Stevenson on his back.
This foul-calling issue has had quite a shelf life since the Cavs beat the Wizards by a dozen almost 48 hours ago. Looks like it will continue through tip-off tonight.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Still worth it!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Agree, totally worth it. But still, that’s a load of garbage. He’s like 100 pounds heavier than Stevenson. Of COURSE Stevenson fell down like somebody shot him. He basically ran into a wall! Doesn’t mean Shaq intended to rack him like that. I think the flagrant is a stretch.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I still haven’t seen the foul; video link anybody?
November 5th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Somebody call the waaaahhhhhbulance.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Well… they shouldn’t complain, right? Haywood and the rest ripped LeBron two years ago during the playoffs, “Waaahh, waaaahh… they’re fouling me too hard, waahh…” I’ll love watching Shaq dish it out to those punks this season.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
That’s okay! Just keep resting his legs for the playoffs!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
The flagrant foul (even if they called it then) is inconsequential. Foul or not, I think the message was received by Mr. Face and the rest of the Wizards: stay out of the lane. This is something that has been missing in Cleveland and I love it. I loved it when he did it to KG and I loved it 2 nights ago. If players have even the slightest doubt about driving into Shaq’s lane….I’ll give up an extra free throw any day.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I know it’s early in the season, but it’s so nice to have him on the team.
He’s a force inside, and entertaining!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
It was proof that the Cavs and Shaq CAN actually see him.
I hope Shaq will do something similar to Rondo when the Cavs play the Celtics again. That guy is too cocky for his own good. I hated him solely on his cockiness and now I hate him even more after the hearing the trash he was talking to CP3. I know that doesn’t involve the Cavs, but a nice body check from Shaq may humble him a bit.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
@ # 7 – I think DeShawn is whiny like the French. I vote he now be known as “Monsieur Face”.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
You can see the foul at about 1:46 on NoYork.com’s highlights. Also, I love the look on Mount Throatmore’s face in the last few seconds.
Agreed. Completely worth it.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
@ Denny:
Seconded.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
@ Oppie, I would definitely like to see Rondo get laid out. I can’t believe the garbage he’s been talking to Chris Paul.
@ all
That foul on Stevenson was amazing. And like Kevin implied, I really don’t think it should have been a flagrant. Shaq is just that much bigger than him. Shaq went for the ball (mostly). It was a hard foul, but Shaq didn’t seem to initiate the contact. Most of it was Stevenson’s momentum hitting a brick wall. There was a primal instinct inside of me that got one heck of a thrill out of that punk getting tossed to the ground like a rag doll. Teams are seriously going to think twice about hard fouling on Lebron. Because they know if they do, they’re going to get it twice as hard on the other end. Either that or shaq will just blind side them with a monster pick.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
im really disappointed in the cleveland fans for never once starting a “sta-tu-tor-y” chant whenever deshawn stevenson entered the game or at least got to the free throw line.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Honestly, I agree that it was a technical. It wasn’t the block on the ball or the body that they are basing this on. It’s hard to tell from the video above (thanks by the way) but Shaq’s gives Monsieur Face a forearm shiv right to the grill with his off hand. I’m surprised it wasn’t called at the time. Still worth it.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I actually think that it does look like a flagrant foul. Shaq’s arm comes down and smacks Stevenson’s head downward. I could see how one can argue it was legit, but it looks like a flagrant to me.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I was a little surprised they didn’t call it flagrant during the game. I noticed he smacked him in the head on the replay.
Flagrant or not, I don’t care. You have to foul guys like that sometimes.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I think we should adopt the phrase, “That was a ‘Shaq is big’ foul.” We used to have that for a guy on our soccer team who was just a huge dude and so if his giganticness caused another player to fall down, it was always called a foul.
Shaq definitely got called for one of those when he cleanly rejected a shot at another point in the game (wishing my memory would remind me of who… Mike Miller maybe?), and was called for a foul because he’s big and the movement of his body was scary. He got all ball though. I think we’ll see a lot of those this season.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
It was hilarious seeing the Wizards choke down the stretch last night against the Heat (DeYawn bricked two free throws & Arenas failed on multiple attempts in crunch time) and still whining to the refs at the end of the game. Everybody’s out to get the Wizards. Clearly.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Srsly?
November 5th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Fr rls.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Kthxbai
November 5th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
OMG!!11!!!LOLLLLLZZZZZZ
Sorry, just wanted to be included.
The foul was flagrant, if we want to get technical about it. If there is a such thing as an ‘unintentional flagrant’, that’s what it was.
The Big Witnes Protection is also The Big Lane Protection.