Actual question here: Who was on the floor longer? Jamal Murray when he tore his ACL? Or Cameron Payne when Jokic’s shoulder brushed his cheek? I don’t know, but the fact that’s even debatable is my fuckin point.
As we all know by now, the Mile High City’s lord and savior, Nikola Jokic, was the victim of an absolute bullshit Flagrant 2 call that kicked him out of a playoff elimination game. Forget for a second that the Suns were probably going to win that game. Forget that they were going to win the series. Would LeBron James been kicked out of that game? Hell, would Joel Embiid have been tossed? A man many claim is the most dominant big man in the NBA over Jokic despite having less playoff wins (by far), less first team all NBA’s, less total points, rebounds, assists, steals, and oh yeah, MVP’s…Do you think he would have been ejected in that situation? You know the answer: Fuck no.
I’m getting off track here, because none of that is even my point. Cameron Payne acting like he died is.
The man literally acted like Jokic fuckin murdered him. Even die hard Suns fans have to admit Jokic got 99.9% ball on that play, but Payne reacted like the bitch he is, Booker got hot and bothered because he saw a dead teammate on the floor, and the officials acted accordingly. That’s the thing. I don’t even really blame the refs in that situation. Payne was laying on the floor the ENTIRE review. To them, seeing that “result,” the punishment had to fit the crime. Nevermind that Payne was dancing in the locker room after the game…
But here’s the hipocricy of it all that makes it hard for me to watch the NBA. While Jokic undeniably went for the ball, Devin Booker, later in the game, absolutely didn’t. Will Barton drove to the hoop, Booker grabbed him from behind by the shoulders, preventing Barton a shot at the basket. The refs reviewed the play and stuck with their original call of a common foul. How the fuck does that make sense???
One nagging thought about that play hasn’t left my mind today. What if Will Barton pretended like he got hurt? What if he laid on the court like Payne did for 5 minutes acting like his career was over? I guarantee that foul becomes at least a Flagrant 1.
“So MustacheMan, what’s your point?” Crying, bitching, and flopping is rewarded in the NBA. That’s my fuckin point. And that’s a problem for me. It’s making the product borderline unwatchable. I say borderline because watching the best athletes in the world play one of my favorite sports at the highest level is still undeniably entertaining.
But the League needs to do something. Do something to stop rewarding the acting and get these guys to start playing the game the way it was meant to be played. If not, I have a feeling there’s gonna be a mass exodus into the viewing of this beautiful game.
Get it fixed NBA, or this hairy upper lipped fan might just stop paying attention.
Yours Truly,
MustacheMan
