2019 Draft, Pick #30 - Kevin Porter Jr., USC

[buzzdog]

I'll say this one last piece and be done with it. IDK if Porter brushed the ref intentionally or if it was an accident.

Porter had just completed a nice 3 point play on the possession before that and he was visibly fired up, in a good way that players react after they make a positive play. No doubt he was pumped up in those minutes.

Looking at his eyes as he ran past the ref it absolutely could have been unintentional. If he did do it on purpose then he was at least trying to make it look unintentional. His eyes looked over towards the sidelines and he was angling in that direction (opposite the team benches) and as the horn sounded for the end of the period he looked at the Cavs bench and turned in that direction to jog over to the bench. As he changed direction he brushed against the ref's back.

In the actual game broadcast nobody seemed to notice the contact, nobody mentioned the contact, there was no technical penalty called, and Porter continued to play with no apparent immediate repercussions.

I absolutely understand protecting the refs from actual "thuggish behavior". At the same time, players run past refs and come within an inch of contact dozens of times a game, and they run past other players more than that making actual contact, usually much harder than what happened in this incident.

This was so far from "thug like" that I find it disturbing that fans of the team would want to jump so easily to this conclusion. It was most likely a careless moment. The NBC writer Kurt Helin was out of line with what he wrote IMO. He wrote that it was intentional, he wrote that it was pretty "cut and dried", he wrote that it was "intentional and not an accident". Based on what?

If it was so clear that it was intentional then why didn't the ref blow the whistle and giver Porter a technical, and if it was so clearly "not an accident" then why didn't the ref eject Porter from the game? None of that happened, and Porter was on the court to start the fourth period.

The fact is, it wasn't clear or obvious to anyone when it happened. Porter was suspended after a post game review of the tapes. The NBA rule is clear, NO player-ref contact is permitted. Porter clearly DID make contact, hence the suspension. To call it thug like? I'll stick to calling that a bullshit opinion.

 

[buzzdog]

Double post

 

[Cavatt]

Here's video if anyone wants to see it:

I think he might have done it on purpose, or even likely. That was also a bad call. The ref flopped as well lol.

The thing Porter has to be worried about is having a bad attitude and losing his playing time to Mckinnie or Windler. This was a teaching moment for him, and that is good that Gottlieb tried to nip it in the bud. Porter needs to keep in mind other guys are gunning for his minutes and one of them is going to get an opportunity tonight

 

[Cassity14]

Struggling to see how there's an argument over this. What he did isn't allowed, period, and needs to be punished punitively.

You can't convince me he didn't mean to do that either lol. The whole court is open and he takes that route and dips his shoulder.

 

[Cavatt]

Struggling to see how there's an argument over this. What he did isn't allowed, period, and needs to be punished punitively.

You can't convince me he didn't mean to do that either lol. The whole court is open and he takes that route and dips his shoulder.

Do you think we should cut him from the team? That seemed like the thing people thought was controversial? Before I saw the close up, I thought he barely brushed him.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

the tolerance for this behavior is astounding. Wow

We are all criminals in here. I'm a masochist too. I enjoy watching the Cavs suck ass.

Struggling to see how there's an argument over this. What he did isn't allowed, period, and needs to be punished punitively.

You can't convince me he didn't mean to do that either lol. The whole court is open and he takes that route and dips his shoulder.

He is wide and has bad proprioception.

 

[Cavatt]

We are all criminals in here. I'm a masochist too. I enjoy watching the Cavs suck ass.


He is wide and has bad proprioception.

Just a teenager who doesn't know his own size as his shoulders are broadening

 

[Cassity14]

Do you think we should cut him from the team? That seemed like the thing people thought was controversial? Before I saw the close up, I thought he barely brushed him.

Oh god no. That take was laughable. I think a 1 game suspension is perfectly fine though.

I just think it's funny to question whether or not he meant to bump into the ref. He clearly did from my point of view. Shit, watch his eyes as he does it - he lines it up then purposely looks away to make it look like an accident.

He's a kid that did something immature. The issue is that this sort of stuff confirms his prior reputation and doesn't do him any favors around the league. Sounds like the Cavs are jumping on this as a teachable moment, which is great.

 

[inliner311]

Do you think we should cut him from the team? That seemed like the thing people thought was controversial? Before I saw the close up, I thought he barely brushed him.

I watched it on YouTube, same clip but better quality. His eyes are looking away from the ref. I don't think it was intentional. If he was trying to just bump the ref you would think he would be looking at the refs back to make sure he bumps him.

My guess he got the one game suspension because he didn't apologize to the ref which I think most vet players would do when they bump into the ref by accident. That alone probably puts into question if he did it on purpose or not.

Refs in the NBA are so use to players trying to be so buddy buddy with them and playing the politics of getting calls. Rookies usually don't understand that part of the game and how they need to try to build relationships with Refs.

 

[Splitz]

Whether he meant it or not, it deserves a 1 game suspension for the stupidity of it. If it was an accident, he sure didn't think to apologize or shout a "my bad" on his way back to the bench.

 

[roozy]

That "Thug" crap is embarrassing.

 

[buzzdog]

I never once questioned the one game suspension. The rules on this are pretty iron clad and there's no mistake he did make contact.

I saw his eyes looking towards the sidelines then towards the bench as he realized the horn had sounded. Anyone saying they know his intentions one way or the other are guessing unless he comes out and says it was intentional, which I assume isn't going to happen.

As I said there was no immediate action taken by the refs. If the contact was egregious or obviously intentional then why didn't the ref whistle a technical on Porter?

My only problem is with people assuming they know Porter's intentions...you don't... and with people jumping to call it thug like behaviour... it wasn't.

 

[Jake]

And going forward he may get nothing but headaches from the refs. That's not good. Anytime say a call is 50/50 rest assured it won't go his way.
It won't be too late to clean it up a bit next time he sees that ref.

 

[Huber.]

He side eyes the ref right before he runs into him and keeps running after he makes contact.

 

[Sumac13]

Intentional, yes. Dumb thing to do, yes. Excusable due to being young, no. Frankly, you don't need to be older than 19 to know this is highly inappropriate. Worth a one game suspension, yes. Cutting, no way. Sounds like the coaches got on his ass about it and addressed the matter. Now, it is a matter of seeing how he constrains his frustration in the future.

The NBA season is long and there will be a multitude of instances where one believes the refs got it wrong. Part of playing is accepting that reality and learning to deal with it in a manner that isn't detrimental to not just oneself, but to that of the team.