What should have been a scandal free overtime game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks became an example of business as usual for the NBA as the billion dollar league protected one of their own with a ruling meant to divide and conquer. Those who feign surprise that the Atlanta Hawks best player on the floor was ejected, simply, have not been paying attention to how this works.
There is no such thing as a meritocracy in the NBA. It’s been a superstar league ever since George Mikan and his seven foot frame took the court in 1946. In the nearly 70 years since, the overwhelming principle is separate but not equal. The ten teams slated for Christmas Day games are the ones that make the league fat money. The two teams expected to be in the NBA Finals are conduits for an economic system that feeds the rich and taints the poor.
While it’s routine to reduce teams to mathematics and how many superstars they employ as a way to evaluate their championship potential, it is a conversation that scratches at the surface but doesn’t reach the marrow. Who holds up the Larry O’Brien trophy is financially relevant. The league’s superstars fill the NBA coffers with millions and keep the league in business. It’s the 1% flexing its muscle.
The NBA is entitled after all. They benefit, as they should, from a capitalist system of economics but often, it is taken too far. Rules are ignored or bent or not equally applied.
Take whatever superstar you want. LeBron James. Kevin Durant. Kobe Bryant. Steph Curry. James Harden. Chris Paul. Russ Westbrook. Look at what happens to them at the end of games or at the end of possessions. They don’t get calls they should get and they do get calls they shouldn’t. Their extraordinary talent is their extraordinary protection. The benefit of the doubt from referees trickle down to their teammates.
More from Soaring Down South
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
In all professions, privilege has its rewards. The NBA is no different.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are privileged. The referees reminded everyone of that in Game 3 when they ejected Al Hoford for what should have been, at best, a Flagrant Foul 1. There is no point in arguing the merits of Matthew Dellavedova and his reckless aggression which often has him going for the most valuable part of a player’s body. The point is, if LeBron James had gotten into a scrum with Paul Millsap and there had been a LeBron James elbow, he would have been given the benefit of the doubt.
In Game 3, Al Horford was not given the benefit of the doubt, lacking the superstar cred. Horford is admired nationally for being a good player (and person) and delivering his team to the playoffs every single year. But he has a job to do in this series and that is to have his ass kicked by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But Horford had a Game 3 going on. He had been unbelievable up to that point, missing just two shots, leading his team in a must win game, providing leadership. Al Horford, who probably doesn’t step on flies, was thrown out because of an elbow that barely made contact. Horford, being the generous player and person he is, held up on Dellavedova, intentionally not hitting him in the head. Still, because of NBA justice, he was gone.
Without Horford, the Hawks were valiant and strong and tough and resilient as they fought hard in the game. Give credit to Mike Scott and give credit to Shelvin Mack and give credit to Jeff Teague for making two tough baskets down the stretch of regulation. Kent Bazemore added an element to the Hawks they did not have with Kyle Korver, his defensive athleticism changed how the Cavs defended.
But imagine if Al Horford had been an option when the game was tied. Imagine if Al Horford was the extra offensive player, a veteran, the Hawks could look too. Imagine if Horford had been in the game on the last play of regulation, in a pick and roll set. The Hawks may have had a better opportunity than a Teague three pointer that wasn’t going to go in.
Just because the Hawks fought hard without Horford, eventually losing in overtime, doesn’t mean that what happened to him was right. Or fair. Nor does it lift the veil of NBA responsibility. We know what we know. We see what we see. The NBA’s way of meting out justice left a bitter taste in the mouth. The game was affected when the Hawks lost Al Horford in Game 3.
Two hours later, predictably, they lost the game.