Zach Lowe of ESPN has a message for all the folks complaining about teams taking unnecessary “garbage time” layups in the NBA: Stop whining! In his latest “10 Things I Like and Don’t Like” column, Lowe references the “LayupGate” incident between Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard and Houston Rockets counterpart Chris Paul at the end of Wednesday’s game between the two teams. Instead of dribbling out the last 15 seconds of Houston’s 121-112 win, the un-defended Paul tacked on a layup, prompting Lillard to jaw at him. Lowe responds to the controversy:
Stop whining! This is the NBA! If you want to prevent teams from running up the score, don’t turn the ball over! Foul someone!
These aren’t obscene, obnoxious plays...
...Houston was up only seven when Paul caught a pass, momentum also going toward the basket, and lofted the ball in. Nutty comebacks -- or almost-comebacks -- happen all the time in the NBA. If you are up by less than 10 with 20 seconds left, you should be free to do whatever the hell you’d like. Paul didn’t showboat, either.
As always, Lowe’s other 9 points are also worth checking out, including the one where he compares Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic to former Trail Blazers star Arvydas Sabonis.