The "Dirty Player" Label

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The "Dirty Player" Label

Written by wendell maxey

Monday, 03 August 2009 09:07

bruce

Remember back in the day when everyone in the league seemed like the dirtiest player in the game?

I mean, you had Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman – and that’s just Detroit alone in the mid-8o’s. Outside of the Pistons, marquee guys like Larry Bird were said to play “dirty”. Even before that, Portland’s own Maurice Lucas was known to mix it up during his days in the ABA.

There’s the classic tale from Lucas’ St. Louis days where he got into it with Artis Gilmore and ended up dropping Gilmore with two quick punches, then proceeded to parade around him taunting Gilmore as he laid sprawled out on the ground.

But is throwing a couple haymakers or just playing physical really criteria for being tagged a “dirty player” these days?

Not sure how many now would call Lucas a "dirty player." He was an enforcer. Is that any different?

Or are we talking about Robert Horry hip checking Steve Nash into a courtside playoff advertising scroll, or Bruce Bowen occasionally – and professed accidently – sliding his foot under Jamal Crawford’s foot when the shooting guard came down after a jumper?

Writing a featured story for HOOPSWORLD about whether Bowen will choose the Boston Celtics or Cleveland Cavaliers (where I believe he’ll land) once he clears waivers this week, I didn’t get into the whole “dirty player” aura that literally has become who Bowen is to some people.

Once that labeled is slapped on you it's hard to rip it off.

Heck, I even open my Bowen story with that illustration.

For my money, I put a guy like Matt Barnes – now with the Orlando Magic – up there, even before Bowen, as the “dirtiest player in the game”.

It’s a total Catch-22 though. Guys like Barnes and Bowen are despised around the league for such suspect play, but their hometown fan base salute them nightly and speak often about them in hushed heroic tones.

Maybe every team needs a guy like that.

Or maybe we need to determine what makes for a “dirty player”.

pic via: bleacher report

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Comments (11) Add Comment

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written by Michael, August 04, 2009

I've always thought we needed some more attitude on our team, I know its nice to have community guys, but if you can get some mean thats great. I think every team needs a dirty players, because if the other team has one, you'd better have one too. Some guys are just plain dirty, but the true gems are the guys like bowen who are smart, and dirty letting them get away with plenty of stuff

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written by wmaxey, August 04, 2009

thanks for the line michael....appreciate you reading and writing.

and i can't disagree with you. getting one guy is a big benefit. but there seems to be a fine line in portland between acquiring someone willing to do the dirty work and that player being tagged a "thug". because we all know the blazers history on that front.

since i wrote that story on bowen though, i've heard nothing but negative comments about bowen being washed up and just a dirty player - when that is one facet of his game, but it's not entirely his game.

yet that's all some people see.

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written by Baby Huey, August 05, 2009

I've heard fans from many other fan bases say that Joel Przybilla is a dirty player. They think he's too rough, drops opponents when it's uncalled for, and is just generally dirty. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder, but I'm sure glad Joel is on our side.

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written by tssbro, August 07, 2009

I think the attitude is coming. The team jumped some pretty big hurdles last year in that department: not backing down against Boston in Portland, not tacking crap from the Lakers/Ariza, Brandon was pretty vocal with a couple of players that were holding and grabbing him over the course of the season, and Joel is always there to step in.

Generally, I have liked what I have seen from them. They respond to the BS by playing harder and winning games instead of resorting to "dirty play." I would rather have a team that plays tough in response to dirty play than have some goon protecting the talent.

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written by tssbro, August 07, 2009

It is a fine line that some players walk between trying to gain an advantage with a grab here or a shove there and pulling something that causes a player to get hurt. If the official doesn't call it, is it a foul? Shane Battier works his butt off on the defensive end but he does clutch and grab at times to gain an advantage. I have never seen him try to hurt someone. I guess that is my line. When Bowen started trying to hurt guys, my opinion of him changed.
In this same vein, I thought Horry's hip check was much more of a "in the flow" reaction than a premeditated effort to hurt Nash. It was a bit of a dirty play but not in the same league as putting your foot under a guy who is landing in hopes of turning his ankle.

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written by wmaxey, August 07, 2009

and that's the thing.....

it takes time, and even bringing in a guy like miller will help. and maybe it's not about adding a guy labeled as "dirty". but those guys - good, bad or indifferent - make a team stand out even more.

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written by wmaxey, August 07, 2009

i have to be honest, joel is the one guy that gives portland their toughness. i know people want to throw brandon and maybe steve blake in that discussion, but if anyone is an "enforcer", it's joel.

where would portland be without him?

but it goes both ways. last season i heard everyone and their grandmother pile on about hating chris "birdman" anderson. but if that guy played for portland, without a doube he'd be a fan favorite. without a doubt.

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written by wmaxey, August 07, 2009

nice take tssbro....

so does that put bowen at the top of the list then for "dirtiest player"? if not, where does he fall. and who else is on that list? we mentioned joel already as the blazers "toughguy".....but does anyone from portland even get close to making that list?

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written by tssbro, August 08, 2009

Barnes and Bowen seem to not care if they put a guy's health at risk. It makes them dangerous and dirty.

Jeff Foster, Tyson Chandler, and Stephen Jackson feed off the negative energy that comes from them making you think they want to hurt you. The opposing player feels threatened and then the negative energy starts flowing and an extra elbow gets thrown and things slowly escalate. They straddle the line but end up being more of a pest than dirty.

Garnett is close because of his taunting. He isn't trying to hurt anyone so it is tough to call him a dirty player but really, if he had been playing in the playoffs last year with the way those officials were handing out taunting technicals, he would have been suspended at least once. I don't like his choice of strategy but I can't label it dirty.

Artest is another guy who I think is real close to being dirty but who I think isn't so much because his crazy doesn't seem to be directed at someone to injure them.

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written by wmaxey, August 08, 2009

and for portland? anyone come close? or who was their last "dirty" player?

ruben?

always a touchy subject to discuss with players - trust me, i've found out - so figured i'd put it out to you all.

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written by tssbro, August 09, 2009

Has Portland ever had a dirty player? It's funny because I am really struggling to remember specific incidents that I would look at as an opposing player and think "that was a dirty play."
Lucas is the first one that comes to mind. I am sure his fight with Dawkins in the Finals could be seen much differently from a Sixer fan's perspective. Kenny Carr got into some skirmishes in his day and was a pretty physical presence in the paint. I don't remember Ruben or Augmon being dirty players but they were both physical defenders and maybe opposing fans would think differently. Was Bonzi a dirty player in Portland? I remember something about an incident in GS but were there others??

This is a great acitivity to challenge our ideas of memory and truth. I mean as fans we will all remember Ariza "attacking" Rudy on the break last year but are we forgetting moment where Blazer players have made similar plays.

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