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http://www.indenvertimes.com/2009/03...-dirty-player/Amundson calls Nene “dirty player”
Mar. 24, 2009 5 CommentsEmail This Story
By Chris Tomasson
Louis Amundson never before had seen a head butt in a basketball game. But he knows what happened in the 2006 World Cup.
With that in mind, the Phoenix forward said if anybody in the NBA knows about head butts, it would be Nuggets center Nene, who is from a soccer-rich nation.
“He’s from Brazil, so I’m sure he knows about soccer tactics like the head butt,’’ said Amundson, touching upon the infamous one France’s Zinedine Zidane threw at Italy’s Marco Materazzi, resulting in ejection from the 2006 World Cup final.
The head butt was on display in the NBA on Monday at US Airways Center. Nene threw one at Amundson in the fourth quarter of Denver’s 118-115 loss, which led to Amundson on Tuesday calling Nene a “dirty player’’ and a “fake, tough guy.’’
But the head butt apparently wasn’t why Nene was ejected. Shortly thereafter, Nene banged into Amundson’s chest. Then he threw an elbow, knocking Amundson to the floor with 7:25 left in the game, which earned Nene a flagrant foul 2, an automatic ejection.
It’s possible Nene, who went face to face with official Bill Spooner after being ejected, could be fined or suspended for Wednesday’s game at New Orleans. Spokesman Tim Frank said the NBA is still reviewing the incident, with no decision expected until Wednesday at the earliest. If Nene is suspended, it would have to be announced before Wednesday’s game.
On Tuesday, Amundson, a 2001 graduate of Louisville’s Monarch High School, spoke at length to InDenver Times about the incident.
“I’m playing hard and with a lot of energy, and Nene took exception to the fact that I was going to play physical back with him,’’ Amundson said. “I play hard, but he was playing dirty the whole game. He was elbowing me. … He was hitting me in the head and the neck.’’
Then, with the Nuggets leading 97-96, the 6-foot-9, 225-pound Amundson was guarding the 6-11, 250-pound Nene away from the ball. Nene went at Amundson with an apparently unprovoked head butt.
“I was surprised that he did that,’’ Amundson said. “But then I was not too surprised because I know he’s kind of a dirty player.’’
What really surprised Amundson is nothing was immediately called after the head butt. That’s why he admits he threw some acting into it when Nene came with the elbow.
“He head butted me, and I guess they didn’t see that,’’ Amundson said. “So when he hit me, and I went to the ground, it was a little bit of a flop. But after the head butt, I figured that was the only way to draw attention to what was going on.’’
Even though Amundson is from the Denver area, where his family continues to live, he said he never has met Nene socially. As for Nene on the court, Amundson has formed an opinion.
“I think he’s a fake, tough guy,’’ said Amundson, a three-year veteran from UNLV. “He’s going to pick on me. I’m just playing hard, and he’s going to head butt me and do dirty stuff to me.’’
Asked if he believes Nene should be suspended, Amundson said, “It’s not up to me.’’
“We just got to be more emotionally mature,’’ Nuggets coach George Karl said to reporters after the game about the incident. “We have an emotional team, and we’ve talked about it. It just seems like we have some guys, some reasons, something will happen almost on a weekly basis. … Amundson did a good job of getting under Nene’s skin. He tried to do it. You could see him doing it. (Nene) just got to understand what’s going on and not hurt us by not being on the court.’’
According to Nuggets publicist Eric Sebastian, Nene on Tuesday had no comment.
This isn’t the first scrap Amundson has been in this season. Clippers forward Zach Randolph was ejected last month and suspended for a game for throwing a punch at Amundson.
“These soft, tough guys, you don’t back down from them,’’ Amundson said of the incidents involving Randolph and Nene.
Amundson is averaging just 4.1 points in 13.1 minutes this season. He was undrafted in 2006 and has come out of nowhere to be a rotation NBA player, which is one reason he believes he gets under the skin of established players.
“I think that comes into the respect factor,’’ said Amundson, who at least has achieved some NBA recognition because of his long hair, which he puts in a pony tail. “A lot of guys, they don’t know my game. They’ve just got to understand that I play extremely relentless and I’m physical all the time. … (Opposing players) are going to throw their weight around, but they’re not used to guys who aren’t going to back down.’’
As for Amundson, he’s not used to being head butted.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at [email protected]
future spur?
Haha. I don't know enough of Nene's body of work to call him "fake tough," but he and Lou were going at it for at least 6 trips in a row down the court until the ejection. Nene really deserved the ejection after he clotheslined Amundson, but nothing was called.
Amundson and Barnes are the best pickups the Suns had this season: Amundson because he's the only one who hustles everytime he's on the court (he has little to no basketball skill, however) and Barnes simply inspires hatred of every fan on all the other 29 NBA teams because he's a thug and has a mountain of terrible tattoos. Golden State fans may still have a special place in their hearts for him after the 2007 playoffs, but just like Bowen, he's a guy you'll hate unless he's on your team.
What's with people trying to kick Admunson's ass?
^Same thing I was wondering
Nene didn't get suspended. He is just too afraid to face Marks tonight.
I'm surprised he got suspended for 2 games. I guess it helps that he's not on one of the chosen teams.
ing Nene. We really needed the Nuggets to steal a win in Dallas in a few days, and now it's going to be that much harder to do so.
Weird. I'm hoping Dallas wins that game.
Given the Mavs' talent of losing to teams that are missing players, the chances of them losing are probably higher now.
If you aren't playing a little dirty sometimes, you aren't playing. Well, at least in my opinion. When everything is going well, I still find it necessary to throw a nudge in here and there.
or put your foot under and unsuspecting jumpshooter
Unlike Bowen, plenty of the fans of his teams hate him. Bowen plays D no matter what, if you want Barnes to play D you also need to give him the green light to throw up any shot he wants. Amundson and Dudley are both players I want them to keep next year, Barnes I hope is gone.
Or how about throwing a bow in the lower back? It's basketball, not ballet dancing.
The brothas just hate Amundson.
Most of the Nuggets are thugs.
No they aren't they are some wanna be thugs. Like the Announcer said if he wanted to be a tough guy why didn't he do it to Shaq? Amundson should have popped him in his one good nut.
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