Fuck yeah. It is not just a cap space thing. It is a luxury tax thing. That is the part that is most suspect and most likely to be subject to a challenge. Memphis gamed the lux tax rules to screw the Blazers and benefit the lux tax reciepients; ie rich teams vs poor teams. Memphis poured salt on the open wound that is the lux tax system, that many owners already despise.
huh? I only saw that play once as it happened, but I know that there was a Blazer right on him as the ball was inbounded. It was odd that he didn't attempt the 3/4 court shot, but maybe he fumbled it or something? Hollins immediately put his arm around him in a way that made me think that he was far from upset with what happened... it seems doubtful to me that he would be understanding of OJ protecting his shooting % in a game they were trying to win. Overall Mayo had a very nice all around game and seemed their best player... Gay looked like the incredible athlete he is and he did hustle, but 7-21 sucks STOMP
If you watch NBA players much in that situation, much of the time they hold on to the ball until a split second after the shot clock, then launch it. Best of both worlds for them. The shot doesn't count against their average, and they don't get grief from fans/coaches for a minor piece of selfishness. High-volume shooters don't really play that game because they know in the big picture they'll be throwing up so many shots that the half court miss won't really ding their average much. Guys like Przybilla will take that shot because they know they aren't paid for their shooting anyway. But if I'm a kid on my rookie contract and I'm not a high-volume shooter or a defensive role player, I probably intentionally delay my shot a split second. Mayo's mistake was not pretending to shoot. But the net result is the same.
Anyway, I hope Pritchard takes the earliest opportunity possible to fuck over the Memphis Grizzlies in some way. It's absolutely a dick move what they did to us, and thanks to the way it was handled by Portland the Blazers came off as the bad guy for sending out that email.
I think they should change the rule on this. Anything past half court should be considered a pass. It's not really a shot from that distance anyway. It's a throw. Some guys take it 2 times a game and when you are only takeing 4-6 3 pt shots per game that is a huge hit to your percentage. Sergio and Travis seem to be forced to take the most for the Blazers. NO DOUBT that Mayo was protecting his stats for his ROY race. Quite frankly it looked embarrassing to me. I say Change the rule.
Yeah, it does seem to encourage uncompetitive behavior. I'm always torn on rule changes, though. It's hard enough to compare players from different eras. With every rule change we make it harder.
Outlaw heaved up a 55-footer at the end of the first half that almost went in the basket. I can tell where Travis' priorities are, and I can also tell where OJ Mayo's priorities are in regards to winning a basketball game.
