Laimbeer was a dirty player. He deliberately would try to hurt guys. When someone would go up for a jump shot, he would stick his foot under the player so they would land awkwardly on his foot.
I agree. He was dirty. But, he couldn’t get away with that, unless the refs let him. That was brutal era in the NBA. And Laimbeer took more than his share of beatings. He retired early, due to a bad back. He took plenty of his own hits. Countless times, I saw him draw offensive fouls, as in knees to the face, knocked flat on his back. He wasn’t a wimp.
Lets not forget the Colorado Avalanche - Detroit Red Wings Rivalry. That is when Claude Lemieux put Kris Draper’s face into the metal stantion holding the glass. This rivalry was so hated at one time there was two major fights which included both goaltenders from each team. One was Dominic Hasek and the other was Mike Vernon against Patrick Roy.
The next time Lemieux saw the Red Wings in Detroit, Darren McCarty kicked the living crap out of Lemieux. Lemieux went into a turtle shell so he could not his face bloody, lose some teeth and who knows what other injuries he was going to obtain. That fight was right off the opening faceoff.