In a game against the NJ Nets, Atlanta guard Bob Sura ended the game with his third straight triple-double, which hasn't been done in seven years. But because his tenth rebound was a result of Sura intentionally missing a field goal, the tenth rebound was disallowed.

Sura, who is in the top five hottie list of several posters, including me, is having one of his better years, especially since joining the Hawks. Apparently, he was encouraged by his teammates to intentionally miss a shot so that he would have a chance at his tenth rebound.

Mark Cuban has an interesting take on this subject on his blog (which can also be pretty interesting).

Mark Cuban's Blog

I would say that the league has creatively interpreted Sura's play as a ball that he lost control of and then recovered himself, and therefore not a shot, so there can be no rebound. And if it puts a stop to this crap, I'm all for it.

Hi Joe. It seems that the NBA is saying that since the shot was not a (real) attempt for a field goal, that there was no shot, hence, no rebound. I'm guessing though, that if a Net rebounded the "shot" instead, he would have been credited for the rebound. Also, there are also times when a player will intentially miss a free throw at the end of the game. I wonder if the NBA also disallows rebounds in that case as well, or if they make a difference between trying to set a record or trying to win a game through contrived means. But the NBA (and NCAA) seem to be okay with the ridiculous number of contrived fouls near the end of a close game to give your team a chance to win. I'm not trying to be too argumentative here, but just bringing up some other related points.

I agree that Bob Sura should have had the tenth rebound taken away as well. But I like the way he handled the situation afterwards with class. I would also like other athletes that have attained records through contrived (or illegal and/or unfair) means to also come clean.

[ April 13, 2004, 11:01 PM: Message edited by: pat125 ]

I have lusted after Sura since he was at Florida State.

Separated at birth:

Bob Sura


The guy from Mad Comics

I don't know what's classy about it: he tried to cheat the rules for his own glory. When Ricky Davis did it he was lambasted for selfishness.

I've certainly benifited from Bob Sura in my fantasy basketball team, but I don't think he was setting a good example. Now there are times when you want to intentionally miss. Kobe Bryant made a spectacular play recently where he was so off balance in the air that he couldn't get a good shot--so he slammed the ball of the backboard, got his own rebound, and went in for a layup. That is an appropriate time to miss a shot and get your own rebound. But I wouldn't call that a rebound--it's more like passing to yourself.

Hi Mark, I agree that attaining the contrived rebound for "glory" was not classy. But Sura admitted it, instead of denying it, getting all self-righteous, calling other people cowards, etc. He admitted doing it, apologized for it, and I'm convinced that in a similar situation, would not do it again. So I still say the way Sura handled things afterwards was classy.

I do not condone what he did, but as bad as it was, it was by far, not the most negative thing in the NBA. The fact that the officials still seem to favor the stars with their foul calls, non-travelling calls, etc., (or at least that's the perception) is more of a problem with the NBA IMO.

There have been so many of these bogus "records". Brett Favre taking a dive to give Michael Strahan the single season sack record. Allowing the injured female UConn hoops player to limp out on court and score an uncontested layup to set a scoring record. The Nets calling a timeout late in the game (even though the game was long over) to try and score so they could break the Pistons streak of holding teams under 70 points.

Just play the games.