On Monday, we talked about Rudy Gobert’s new baby, and on Tuesday, we discussed Jamal Murray behaving like a child.
Isn't it surprising that the Nuggets are behind 2-0 in the Western Conference semifinals?
The Nuggets have been falling apart against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They couldn't match their opponent's physicality, and in Game 2, instead of fighting back, they complained to the officials.
The Nuggets' behavior was even more embarrassing than the final score. They made it a convenient excuse for losing, despite the multiple bad calls and no calls. Instead of just accepting it, they let it affect their performance.
The Timberwolves respect the champion but are not afraid of them, easily outplaying them.
Instead of fighting back, the Nuggets acted like the Lakers, complaining and showing frustration.
And that was the best they could do.
What Murray did in the second quarter was described by Timberwolves coach Chris Finch as “unforgivable and risky.”
Murray should have been suspended for one game, but the league decided to fine him instead. Murray was fined $100,000 on Tuesday for “throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during live play.”
He got off easy. This is not meant as a hot take, but rather a conclusion based on the aggregate of his actions. Murray made the money sign at a referee, a gesture that got Gobert fined $100,000 in March. Then, Murray completely lost his composure while seated on the end of the bench. With 4:57 remaining in the second quarter, he tossed a towel in referee Marc Davis’ direction.
Even if you give Murray the benefit of the doubt and assume he was punching his fist in frustration and the towel slipped from his grip, he ruined it by what he did next.
Sixteen seconds later, he can be seen clearly in video tossing a heat pack in Davis’ direction that reached the court as players battled near the rim. It came close to Karl-Anthony Towns’ feet and was ultimately picked up by Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and flipped out of bounds.
The good news is that no one was hurt. Some people on social media think this excuses Murray. No harm, no foul, even though accidents can happen. His intent was to hit the official, so it's not okay, right?
Well, any fan throwing an object onto the court is ejected. How is this different? In fact, after Murray’s heat pad toss, the announcer reminded the crowd of the rules, assuming that is how the object ended up on the floor. I wonder if Murray wanted to get thrown out. We are unsure because he left Monday without talking to the media.
Davis, the crew chief, said that if he knew Murray threw the heat pack, he would have received a technical foul, but not an ejection. An ejection, according to Davis, requires a determination that the object was “thrown directly at somebody versus thrown in frustration.”
Many NBA experts believe that Murray avoided suspension because there's no specific rule against what he did. Do we really need a detailed reminder to tell players that they can't throw objects onto the court during live action?
Its absence is more of a gap in the rules than a logical decision.
Murray put players at risk in a moment of anger. It would have been simple to ban him for Game 3. Last season, the Miami Heat suspended Dewayne Dedmon for one game after he hit a chair so violently that it propelled a theragun massage device near midcourt during live play, in consultation with the NBA.
Decisions by the NBA are never straightforward. There's always an arbitrary nature to its rulings that seem self-serving. Obviously, the league didn't want the defending champ to face the Timberwolves in Game 3 without its second-best player. Nuggets fans should remember this if an opposing star acts this way against their team in the future.
The strongest argument for Murray only receiving a hefty fine is his track record.
He has never been involved in anything like this. This was not Draymond Green choking a player or Patrick Beverly firing basketballs into the stands. Murray has shown character and class throughout his career.
But a fine without discipline makes it hard to take the NBA seriously when it talks about player safety.
Murray made a shot in this postseason. He made another one. He was celebrated for both.
Then on a night when he was compromised by his left calf, leading to an awful performance, he made a mistake. He avoided a ban, so hopefully, he can learn from it and act more like an adult.
