The Perfect Storm Of Players Produced The First NBA's First Actual Fight In A Long, Long Time10/21/2018
I know the Adam Silver and the rest of the Association’s associates don’t want to hear this (or will never admit as much out loud), but this fight - from it’s instigation, to its circumstances, to its participants, to its bystanders - is what makes professional basketball the best. In a fashion that was almost stereotypically soap opera-esque, the NBA announced its arrival no more than 5 days into the season with a moment of high drama that featured some of the sports’ biggest names, and - despite it having absolutely nothing to do with putting a ball in a hoop - its most loyal fans wouldn’t have it any other way. Partially due to the impending suspensions, those fisticuffs have way more staying power as a storyline (more accurately, storylines) than any ankle-breaking buzzer-beater. So with that said, let’s start hashing out some of the most intriguing narratives…
The fuse lighter: This being sparked by Brandon Ingram, of all people, when you could have went through the active rosters and picked a dozen candidates more likely to set off some fireworks is emblematic of the frustration a defensive player must feel when going against the Rockets. The impetus behind what was an otherwise a completely unprovoked shove simply had to be the same type of pissed off that a fan might feel when rooting against either James Harden or Chris Paul as they flounder and flop their way to the foul line. Not sure that the general annoyance caused by trying to guard the unguardable calls for a Superman sucker punch, but the push in the back felt like a flagrant attempt at earning the fouls he had already received. The peacemaker: If you were writing an NBA fan fiction with the premise being that the Lakers and Rockets forgot what decade they were playing in and started hurling haymakers than you’d probably have Lance Stephenson dropping from the rafters with a flying clothesline, as opposed to coming within 50 yards of breaking it up. In what was a pretty surreal scene, the league’s most enticing enigma turning into a problem solver in a time of need would somehow be the aspect of this altercation you’d most have to see to believe.
The fighters: That fight was basically the hate equivalent of every love story that takes far too many seasons to come to fruition in long-running television shows. Like, think Ross and Rachel, but as Enemies that loathed each others’ existence while ignoring that their only differences were skin-deep. It being Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo who came to blows was only shocking in the sense that anyone that’s watched them for any extended period of time had grown tired of expecting it. In essence, that mush and the principled reaction it drew was a decade in the making...
ESPN was very diplomatic about it in calling them both “highly competitive” players, but - while they very much are - what had them breaking the “let me at ‘em” mold of most NBA mix-ups was them both being super petty, shit-stirring pricks (and I say in the most complimentary way possible). Chris Paul making nothing out of something as it pertains to this unseen “spit” he swears he wore and Rajon Rondo punching when prodded regardless of circumstance are everything we’ve ever known about their on-court personalities all encapsulated in a perfect storm of an episode that might come to define them as divisive dickheads.
Carmelo Anthony, the innocent accomplice: In a way that only Carmelo Anthony could, he may have unintentionally made things approximately 1,000x times worse just by standing there and doing absolutely nothing. There’s reason to believe his saliva accidentally greased the wheels of this grievance in having it roll full-speed ahead into an aggressive and overdue grudge match. Him being certain that there was definitely spit without realizing that it was actually run-off from his mouth would be the most elaborate metaphor for the career of a stubborn star player whose self-awareness has always left a lot to be desired. — Bruh Report (@BruhReport) October 21, 2018 LeBron James, friend or foe?: LeBron James, The King…of having his intentions questioned. I totally understand him honoring a friendship that’s aged more than the wine it consumes, but LeBron James sure does have a way of doing the right thing in a fashion that makes you say “oh, he’s wrong for that…”. You don't go to Los Angeles to make new friends, you go to make new profitable business associates. Therefore, it makes a hell of a lot of sense that even LABron would grab his Banana Boat brother as opposed to his tumultuous teammate of less than a week. Still, walking away with his arm draped over CP3’s shoulders as if were comforting him after the death of his puppy is just enough non-Laker loyalty to remind some fans that he's not Kobe.
Family Feud: Hear me out, it's just like the gameshow....but in an octagon. All in all, I think the NBA is obligated to consider this a bad look for itself and come down hard as a result, but if they were disclosing in full then they'd have to acknowledge that the fact that you can look at a five second fight half-a-dozen hilarious ways is symbolic of how much more they've become than just the predominant basketball league in the world. The Association very much profits off being a personality-driven reality show, and some of the strongest ones took center stage in a way that will be continue to be fascinating long after it's forgotten that it wasn't exactly family friendly.
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