The Beacon Journal’s Brian Windhorst on a stunt so ill-advised, even Ricky Davis thought it was poor sportsmanship.
As the final seconds ran off in the Cavaliers’ 99-88 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, Anderson Varejao (above) decided to hoist up a 3-point attempt. It was Varejao’s effort to appease the fans, who were vocally hoping for the Cavs to reach 100 points so they could get their free Taco Bell chalupa.
The shot was flat and so was the response.
While NBA fans desire for free 99-cent merchandise — be it tacos, little rubber balls or T-shirts — seems unbridled, the same could not be said for the Pacers’ enthusiasm following Varejao’s shot. Several, including head coach Rick Carlisle, shot Varejao demonstrative stares afterward.
Varejao, who was just 1-of-7 shooting on the day, drew the ire of his teammates as well. The protocol in those situations is to dribble the ball out and then shake hands
“We’re not that type of team,” LeBron James said. “He knows not to do that again; it is as simple as that. You never want to show off, and he definitely made a mistake and he learned from it.”
Following the game, Cavs coach Mike Brown met with Varejao to let him know pleasing the fans isn’t always the top priority. Then he issued an apology to the Pacers for the incident.
“We’re up and we already know we’re going to win,” Brown said. “In a situation like that… we don’t need to shoot that basketball. We apologize for it if that makes them feel better. We’ll live and learn and we’ll move on.”
You can count the Daily News’ Frank Isola amongst those who believe J.D. of the Straight Shot, “jumped the gun” in granting Isiah Thomas an extention with nearly 20 games to play.
The Knicks spend one full day in eighth place and Dolan is throwing around extensions. What´s next, a parade on Tuesday?
Maybe Isiah had more leverage than some of us believed. There has been speculation for months that the University of Minnesota will make a run at Pistons head coach Flip Saunders. Maybe Detroit was going to make a run at Thomas. Maybe Thomas let it be known that he had other options. Either way, good for him. He´s earned it. But Dolan still should have waited until the season ended before handing out extensions.
The Journal News’ Mike Dougherty, however, allows the voice behind “Shoot That Dog” to have his say on the matter.
It was pretty much a forgone conclusion that Thomas was coming back. For the first time in his otherwise pedestrian tenure, the Knicks appear to be making headway.
œMy thinking was it was going to be the whole year, Dolan said. œBut in the last few weeks, I™ve become absolutely convinced they had done what we asked them to do.
He didn™t apparently enlist much help in making the decision, either.
œI tried to keep it close to the vest, Dolan said. œCertainly, many people offered me advice along the way, some from five rows back. I listened, but I really tried to keep my own counsel. I knew this was something I had to be confident about.
There were a few incidents that caused him to question whether Thomas was the right man for this job.
œI obviously wasn™t happy about the brawl, Dolan said. œI obviously wasn™t happy with some of the losses we had. Other times, I was thrilled. Really, I tried to stay positive and watch the season progress.
My favorite answer during the 30-minute dialogue came when Dolan was asked to analyze some of the questionable front office decisions Thomas has made in the last three years.
œNobody™s perfect, he said.