Did Kobe foul Nelson?
I've seen the replay of this about 100 times today, and I'm still trying to figure out if the right call was made. When Kobe Bryant passed out front to Derek Fisher for the 3-pointer that gave the Lakers the lead for good in overtime, Bryant cracked Orlando's Jameer Nelson in the face with an elbow. Was it a foul? Or was it just part of the action of making the pass? What do you guys think? Oh, and can we discuss this without profanity? Please. Thanks.
For those that might say, "a foul is a foul, regardless of the circumstance", I say in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd qtrs. maybe they call that foul on Kobe. At that point of the game and especially since it was as much Jamir Nelson initiating contact, there is no way they make that call. Even in that game in which the disparity of calls bordered on the ridiculous, that cannot make that call.
Had they made that call, I would have petitioned the league to investigate Bennett Salvatore and Scott Foster!
I don't think it was a foul. I might be biased but I feel like Nelson stepped into it as kobe was turning towards fish to make the pass. Jameer Nelson is short enough for Kobe to not have seen him. Also agree with the post above, if it was a foul (which I dont think it was) you can't call it so late in the game.
I think it was a foul, but it happened so quickly. The refs had been really inconsistent all night. There were so many uncalled Magic fouls, I would have been pretty angry if they called that one.
I don't think the Kobe did it intentionally and it actually does look like Jamir Nelson ran into Kobe's elbow. Regardless, it would not have been wrong whatsover for the ref to call a foul. So what if Nelson drew it . Contact was still made. Overall, I don't think it affected the outcome of the game whatsoever. Orlando had plenty of other chances.
I agree with a lot of the other posts. Especially the ones that say you can not call that foul late in the game. Cause this sport is for the fans. And the fans want to see a fight. They do not want their team to get handed the victory.