Something about the LA Clippers coming to town… it seems to bring the flare out of the Utah Jazz. Last January, the term “Salt Lob City” was coined during a 108-79 blowout at Energy Solutions Arena, kick starting Jeremy Evans’ dunk contest campaign. Evans finished a pair of alley-oops that bookended a five-minute fourth quarter run during which numerous dunks were completed by a variety of Jazz players, forcing the Clippers to vacate Utah with their tails between their legs. For those who missed out on the action, my video/summary lives on in the NBA247365.COM archives.
Or, if you prefer, simply fast forward to last night, when something of an encore was performed on NBAtv. The highlights weren’t jam packed into a five-minute stretch like they were last winter, but they were hardly few and far between. As Utah went on to win it 99-91, the likes of Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Alec Burks got in on the action…
As you can see, Burks’ jam on Marqus Blakely, a training camp invitee, was of the in-your-face variety, and the aftermath may explain why tempers flared in the game’s waning seconds. For those who’d gone to sleep, Darnell Jackson got himself tossed from this contest with 3.7 ticks to go. As he held the ball, intending to let the clock expire, Blakely committed a blatant violation of basketball etiquette as he tried to steal the ball. Jackson took offense and twice threw his forearm at Blakely’s face. All of this can be seen on Youtube.
Anyway, go back and watch Burks’ dunk one more time. Take a closer look at the reaction of Utah’s bench; specifically, Darnell Jackson. It’s pretty easy to read his lips: “that’s on you, that’s on you!”… you being Marqus Blakely, of course.
So, did Jackson’s trash talk justify Blakely’s unsportsmanlike actions? Did Blakely’s unsportsmanlike actions justify multiple forearm shivers? I guess that’s for you to decide. As for Jackson and Blakely, they’ll have plenty of time to sort it out in the D-League this season.
Dunk rating on the Starbury Nastiness Scale:
9/10 Starbury Nasty Faces
Throwback Poster of the Day: Andrew Bogut demolishes Troy Murphy…
