https://youtu.be/EllWSa5ovlU
If you know anything about me, you know that I hate being deceived by NBA players, and I hate making highlight videos under false pretenses. And both those things are EXACTLY what just happened to me. I am so filled with righteous fury that, by the time I’m done writing this description, there will be nothing left of Mo Bamba, the Orlando Magic, the NBA as an organization, and the Little Caesar’s Arena where this heinous act took place other than smoldering wreckage and rubble. Metaphorically of course. Metaphorical wreckage.
You see, with five seconds left in this game and the Magic comfortably on their way to victory, Mo Bamba scored an and-one layup to bring him from 19 to 22 points. He went from not having a career-high in points to legitimately having a career-high in points thanks to one play that probably shouldn’t have happened, or at least it shouldn’t have happened the way it did. I don’t have any problem with players making attempts to score even on the final possession of a won game (“sportsmanship” is an artificial human construct, while “points” are a mathematical concept which cannot be refuted), but if you’re going to score, at least act like you’re gonna score. Don’t just stand around and wait for the paint to clear out before going for the bucket.
Since nobody was expecting Bamba to try to score, there was a halfhearted scramble to try and stop him, but all it did was result in a foul, PLUS a technical foul because Frank Jackson was butthurt about the whole situation. Bamba shot and missed the technical, but hit the conventional free throw, thus beating his previous career-high of 21 by one point.
There was a failure at multiple levels that allowed this trickery to take place. Obviously Bamba shouldn’t have pretended like he wasn’t going to try to score if what he really wanted to do was get another bucket. But really, it’s the NBA’s fault for fostering an environment where players stop trying at the end of games. Adam Silver looks like an alien and his concept of sportsmanship is alien to me as well. Hopefully he doesn’t abduct me into his UFO for saying this stuff.
So, basically, in DTB’s world, Bamba had 19 points in this game, and nobody can change my mind about it.