Elie taunts Ainge, Ainge hits Elie in head with ball

[D.J.]

1994 playoffs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN1gfT2IUuo&feature=related

[1987_Lakers]

Ainge throwing the ball at Elie has been posted here, but not the Elie taunt towards Ainge, this explains why he threw the ball. Ainge was a scrappy mother ****er.

[chips93]

ainge = goat mormon

:confusedshrug:

[D.J.]

Ainge throwing the ball at Elie has been posted here, but not the Elie taunt towards Ainge, this explains why he threw the ball. Ainge was a scrappy mother ****er.


Yeah, the clip showing the Elie taunt was posted on YouTube about a month or two ago. Ainge played about 200 MLB games with Toronto in the early 80s. That throw was just wicked. :eek:

[Rake2204]

I almost didn't click on this thread, only because I thought it was going to be a repeat of the thread made about a month ago. However, like others mentioned, I'd never seen the Elie taunt. Seems to indicate the throw wasn't an accident. It still cracks me up though. Haha.

[DuMa]

i always love how ainge just plays it off nonchalantly like he was going for the outlet pass. but looking at the play, hakeem should have never dunked it or dunked it emphatically in that fashion. thats just poor sportsmanship when the game was clearly over

[millwad]

Haha, I always thought he tried to hit Hakeem with that ball because he dunked that last point when the game already was over. Considering Ainge's throwing arm it's legit to say he was after Elie after that taunt!

Hilarious!:applause:

Now I'm only waiting to see Horry throwing that sweaty towel right in Ainge's face in '96..:rockon:

[Alan]

This might not be intentional. It happened to me once too. I tried to throw a long pass out of bounds just like Ainge but the ball slipped a little and I hit the opponents player right in the face :D

[millwad]

This might not be intentional. It happened to me once too. I tried to throw a long pass out of bounds just like Ainge but the ball slipped a little and I hit the opponents player right in the face :D

You ain't Danny Ainge, boy! Danny Ainge was a sick mofo who had sick precision!:bowdown:

[D.J.]

This might not be intentional. It happened to me once too. I tried to throw a long pass out of bounds just like Ainge but the ball slipped a little and I hit the opponents player right in the face :D


You weren't a utility player on the Toronto Blue Jays. Ainge was. He knew what he was doing.

[swi7ch]

GOAT center at 0:58 :bowdown:

[G-train]

That was awesome, it was completely deliberate and I would have done the same thing in Ainge's position.

[Rake2204]

i always love how ainge just plays it off nonchalantly like he was going for the outlet pass. but looking at the play, hakeem should have never dunked it or dunked it emphatically in that fashion. thats just poor sportsmanship when the game was clearly over
In the NBA I've never been especially cool with this idea. They're professional players, it's a game of entertainment, so if they score through legal means, I think it should be alright. Now, I'm not a fan of taunting (like Elie was and probably Ainge at some point before that) but I find that to be different than performing on the court. As a fan, I very much enjoy those moments in NBA games where one of the best players in the world gets a chance to attempt a crazy dunk without fear missing it and altering the outcome of a game.

Of course, I can clearly see the other side of the debate. I just wish playing all 48 minutes (even in the midst of a blowout) wasn't so frowned upon in the NBA. In high school, when a team is clearly overmatched, sure, the two-handed monster jam by the 6'8'' guy with 30 seconds left of a 50 point blow out might be a little much. In the NBA though, I follow the "if you don't want to get windmilled upon, then play defense better" mantra. They're all awesome players. The arena is full of 20,000 paying customers. I don't see why offense should be taken at an all-world athlete doing what he does best against other all-world athletes.

[G-train]

In the NBA I've never been especially cool with this idea. They're professional players, it's a game of entertainment, so if they score through legal means, I think it should be alright. Now, I'm not a fan of taunting (like Elie was and probably Ainge at some point before that) but I find that to be different than performing on the court. As a fan, I very much enjoy those moments in NBA games where one of the best players in the world gets a chance to attempt a crazy dunk without fear missing it and altering the outcome of a game.

Of course, I can clearly see the other side of the debate. I just wish playing all 48 minutes (even in the midst of a blowout) wasn't so frowned upon in the NBA. In high school, when a team is clearly overmatched, sure, the two-handed monster jam by the 6'8'' guy with 30 seconds left of a 50 point blow out might be a little much. In the NBA though, I follow the "if you don't want to get windmilled upon, then play defense better" mantra. They're all awesome players. The arena is full of 20,000 paying customers. I don't see why offense should be taken at an all-world athlete doing what he does best against other all-world athletes.

It's case by case. In this case Elie was taunting and the bench was yelling stuff, Hakeem was just rubbing it in their faces.

[Collie]

Lol, I loved Mario Elie back on the day. He almost always hit big shots when it mattered.

[Round Mound]

Totally Intentional :roll: :applause: :rockon:

[D.J.]

Totally Intentional :roll: :applause: :rockon:


Agreed. Barkley was like :wtf:

[Maniak]

Ouch.

That was some intense passion in the game between those two though. The commentator was getting quite riled up about it as well.

[jlip]

The funniest thing about this was Elie jumping up in Ainge's face as if he was going to hit him but actually did nothing. It's as if he was hoping that someone would hold him back, but they didn't get the memo.

[Deuce Bigalow]

damn, he threw that hard :oldlol:

[Deuce Bigalow]

The funniest thing about this was Elie jumping up in Ainge's face as if he was going to hit him but actually did nothing. It's as if he was hoping that someone would hold him back, but they didn't get the memo.

lol this

[KevinNYC]

i always love how ainge just plays it off nonchalantly like he was going for the outlet pass.

The absolute best part is just nailed this guy in the face, but then he makes sure the he doesn't touch the ball until it goes out of bounds. Like that's the call he's worried about.

[OldSchoolBBall]

The absolute best part is just nailed this guy in the face, but then he makes sure the he doesn't touch the ball until it goes out of bounds. Like that's the call he's worried about.

:oldlol:

[Smoke117]

The funniest thing about this was Elie jumping up in Ainge's face as if he was going to hit him but actually did nothing. It's as if he was hoping that someone would hold him back, but they didn't get the memo.

No the funniest thing about this is how Danny Ainge plays it off like it's a complete accident. Yeah where was a rifle like that with no no arc going? lol. Right where he planned it to go...into the side of Mario Elie's head. It would have been interesting if he had thrown it at Hakeem though because he would have went ape shit and probably started throwing punches and Danny would have had to do another Tree Rollins take down haha.

[D.J.]

I remember at the time, people were crucifying Ainge. But they forget that just 7 years earlier, Ainge's teammate(Bird) threw the ball at Laimbeer's head and was loved for it.

[Rake2204]

I was watching Game 7 of this series today and the commentators mentioned Ainge's antics from earlier in the series. According to the commentators (this may be obvious to some) Ainge admitted he was indeed trying to hit Mario Elie. However, Ainge apparently also stated he was not trying to hit him in the face (which could just be Ainge's way of. . . saving face).

Also, after watching the conclusion of Game 7 tonight, I may have made a complete 180 degree turn regarding end-of-game dunks by winning teams. I've always been in favor of pro teams dunking regardless of their lead and the time left. But watching Houston laughing and celebrating with 12 seconds left, and the Suns defense clearly in "Okay, you won the series, we give" mode, waiting for Houston to dribble out the clock, only to have Hakeem attempt another monster dunk. . .I guess I'll just say it was pretty satisfying to watch Charles Barkley flagrantly foul him (I knew Hakeem would be alright, so it wasn't some kind of bloodlust).

Anyway, here's Barkley taking out Hakeem in the waning seconds of a game already decided: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAkwsv314VM

I have to think it was plays like this in a series like this that helped stomp out nearly all of the dunks we used to see in situations like this.

[ihatetimthomas]

That clip always cracks me up. Ainge was one of the best role players out there. He was tough as nails and a guy you could depend on. Loved his fearless and warrior mentality.

[Solid Snake]

Ainge throwing the ball at Elie has been posted here, but not the Elie taunt towards Ainge, this explains why he threw the ball. Ainge was a scrappy mother ****er.


I actually remember a couple rare occasions when he got testy during COMMENTARY with John Thompson on TNT. Now normally, those two + Kevin Harlan have a very casual banter, with Thompson playfully talking down to Ainge. That's how it normally is 99 out of 100 times. Well I remember once Ainge reacted in a way that made Thompson have to laugh it off and tell him "I'm just joking with you man," not in those words but something like that.

[icewill36]

religion of peace....

[Pushxx]

Totally justified. The taunting was way over the line.

Ainge was such a solid baller for so many years. Infinite hustle. Great team player.

[Vienceslav]

Dodgeball!

[Haymaker]

Lol, I loved Mario Elie back on the day. He almost always hit big shots when it mattered. I HATED him! But I forgave him when he helped us Spurs win a title though :oldlol:

[Rake2204]

Just stumbled upon this clip again. Still fascinating. And as posted yesterday in the Off the Court Lounge, I guess it could have been worse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSW2pPlZF-M

[Myth]

All that baseball throwing practice came in handy :applause:

[VIP2000]

I like how the Youtube commenters are like "Now this is REAL basketball" or "The NBA's too soft nowadays".

All this video showcases is poor sportmanship. If LeBron, Durant, etc. is dunking in the last seconds of an already decided game or whipping the ball in someone's face, these same commenters would be like "These superstars today have no class!"

[Xiao Yao You]

You weren't a utility player on the Toronto Blue Jays. Ainge was. He knew what he was doing.

I believe he was a 3rd baseman not a utility player. He might have ended up a utility guy if he'd stuck around and continued to not hit much.

[Rake2204]

I like how the Youtube commenters are like "Now this is REAL basketball" or "The NBA's too soft nowadays".

All this video showcases is poor sportmanship. If LeBron, Durant, etc. is dunking in the last seconds of an already decided game or whipping the ball in someone's face, these same commenters would be like "These superstars today have no class!"Don't worry about it. It's YouTube policy for at least one person to say, "Now this is REAL basketball" on any NBA clip from 2004 or earlier.