Diss Guy: Anyone who’s still standing
I was braving the frigid temps, icy roads, and biting winds of Des Moines, Iowa for most of the past two weeks and missed a lot of NBA goings on. The continued assault of injuries didn’t escape me though as we added Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul to the ever-expanding NBA infirmary. So instead of focusing on a single topic for this week’s Diss Guy, I’m sending a wink, a nod, and a hat tip in the direction of a few players and performances that have managed to either avoid, return from, or benefit from this merciless plague of injuries:
- Kendall Marshall: Perhaps someone has a voodoo doll of Lakers point guards. Or maybe it’s just a residual bad luck lingering from David Stern’s unnecessary and unjust veto of the Chris Paul trade. Whatever the case or cause, Lakers point guards are in a class of their own when it comes to injuries. Steve Nash’s career is fading into an unknown translucent memory that will be nothing but pixels. Steve Blake’s elbow is malfunctioning in a way that prevents him from playing. Jordan Farmar’s hamstrings are being attacked by invisible microorganisms insistent on tearing and ripping at the tissue every time opportunity knocks. And that leaves us with the reject, Kendall Marshall. Were it not for all these cursed injuries, Marshall wouldn’t be in the position he’s in now: starting for the Los Angeles Lakers. But there he was on Friday night going against Utah’s darling rookie point, Trey Burke. And there he was putting up a mind boggling 20-points, 15-assists and 6-rebounds with just one turnover in over 40 minutes of court time. We’ve seen Mike D’Antoni squeeze magic out of point guards before, but I was happy to be surprised by Marshall acting as his latest vehicle last night.
- Andre Iguodala and Joe Johnson: Iguodala is mostly recovered from his own hamstring injury and Johnson’s managed to stay healthy although one could forgive him for taking a couple of mental days if he so chose. So it was nice to see each of these vets hit huge game winners this week – Iggy in Atlanta on Friday night and Johnson in Oklahoma City on Thursday. In an NBA where we over-obsess about who is and isn’t clutch and what constitutes clutch, it’s fun to note that over the past nine seasons, Johnson’s hit the most buzzer beaters (six) and Iggy’s next (five).
- Steph Curry: Steph’s ankles are still a matter of anxiety for hoop fans everywhere. Whether it’s a legitimate fear or just paranoia, it’s still there which makes his superstar performances this season all the more enjoyable. That Iguodala play I referenced above was only possible because the existence of Curry and the skin-crawling panic he brings out in opponents. With 3.5 seconds on the clock, Curry caught the ball about two steps inside the half court line where he was well-defended by Shelvin Mack. Atlanta’s Pero Antic panicked at the sight of Curry holding the ball – despite him being over 40-feet from the hoop. Fear in his eyes and dripping from his pores, Antic sprinted to Curry and left Iggy all alone. None of this is possible without the threat of Curry dropping a bomb on Phillips Arena.
- The Toronto Raptors: One of Bill Simmons’s cleverest gifts to the sports world was “The Ewing Theory,” which posits that a team performs better without a certain player. The latest candidate for this theory has to be Rudy Gay. Last year when the Grizzlies traded him, they immediately improved. Now we see the Raptors moving Gay to the Kings and what do you know, they’re on a 10-3 run since his departure. But this isn’t about Gay as much as it is about this Raptors team being an exceedingly scrappy, entertaining, overall fun team to watch. I have no idea how sustainable this joyride is, but as long as the Raptors are having fun, they’ll continue to climb my completely informal, mentally-noted League Pass Power Rankings.
Miss Guy: David Harrison and the Blurred Lines of the Non-Conformist
A recent piece in The Denver Post by Benjamin Hochman described the outdated approach of most sports leagues to marijuana usage and used the plight of former Pacer and Colorado Buffalo center, David Harrison as a casualty of this heavy handed approach. Harrison was a fringe big, a legit 7-footer with a big body who likely had the ability to make a career in the NBA, but tested positive for marijuana use in 2008; proceeded to apologize for the blemish it left on the Pacers franchise in the wake of the Malice at the Palace and took an outspoken stance on player privacy and marijuana decriminalization.
Unlike most first round picks (he was the 29th overall pick in 2004), Harrison didn’t garner much NBA interest after his contract expired and has spent the past few years playing in China. He believes he’s been blackballed by the league for his views on marijuana:
“You show disdain for the government or the rules, they’re going to make an example out of you the best they can, to teach the thousands of people watching on TV the lesson they’re trying to teach you.”
For context, Harrison also compares his situation to The Hunger Games, but his point was more clearly articulated in a radio interview that occurred after his suspension:
“Is (marijuana) that bad? That’s the question I really want people to ask themselves sometimes.”
Former Minnesota Vikings punter and social activist, Chris Kluwe, published a well-written article on Deadspin a couple days ago describing his experiences as an outspoken member of the Vikings and his belief that his activism resulted in his eventual release. Kluwe makes a coherent case and, as of yesterday, the Vikings have responded by hiring two outside attorneys to conduct an independent investigation into his claims. After this latest piece on Deadspin, even if Kluwe wanted to get back in the NFL, it’s unlikely he’d be picked up.
The past year in the NBA we’ve seen Jason Collins come out of the closet and witnessed the very public challenges of Royce White to find a team capable of accommodating his anxiety and mental health issues. Each of these four players has three specific traits in common:
- They’ve challenged an existing idea or unwritten code – directly or indirectly
- By pro standards, their talent is mediocre
- They’re no longer employed by the NBA or NFL
With the exception of Kluwe, there’s no smoking gun or evidence pointing to an intentional discrimination occurring. What makes the question all the more difficult is the mediocre talent of these players. As I’ve written before, Collins has been a fringe guy his entire career. White has never played in a regular season NBA game. And Harrison’s four seasons with the Pacers revealed below average ability. When asked if he was fired for his activism, Kluwe writes, “I honestly don’t know, because I’m not in those meetings with the coaches and administrative people.” The same can likely be applied to the three NBA players here as well and muddies up the already murky waters of transparency when it comes understanding how or why a team decides to release or not sign a particular player.
My interpretation of the message derived from the stories above is that pro athletes who reside on the fringes of employability would be wise to get in line with their leagues’ corporate-friendly views and keep their mouths shut on social topics that elicit powerful emotional responses. This is a sad, unfair, and unacceptable approach to take, but it’s one that appears to have some semblance of reality.