Basketball gods must love irony.
It’s the only way to explain how Rudy Gobert, the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19, could end up being the same person to score the first and last points of the opening game for the league restart on Thursday by night. Gobert literally opened and closed the scoring when the Utah Jazz defeated The Bubble New Orleans Pelicans 106-104 in Orlando.
“I’m thankful” Gobert told ESPN. “I’m just thankful that I can do what I love to do. After all that I personally and everything that the world is going through right now, being able to continue inspiring millions of children around the world and continue spreading positivity is just a blessing. ”
“And it’s great to start with a victory, of course.”
But while Gobert may be the offspring of how the coronavirus has affected the NBA, LeBron remains king. James hit the winning basket and made the last defensive stop to give the Lakers a 103-101 victory over the Clippers.
Before each game, teams gathered to kneel in peaceful protest during the national anthem. And when I say everyone got down on their knees, I mean everyone, including players, coaches, umpires and league staff.
“There has been progress. But in the past, when we’ve seen progress, we’ve left our foot out of the glass a little bit. ” James told TNT After the match. “We can not do that. We want to keep keeping our foot on the gas. Keep pushing forward. Continue to spread love throughout America. We are dealing with a lot of racism, a lot of social injustice, a lot of police brutality. Not only in my neighborhoods. Not only with blacks and blacks. It is something we want to keep our ears open for. And now we have ears, but we can’t stop with our foot on the gas with what we’ve been doing in the past few months. “
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The players were challenging rule that came into play in 1981, stating that “players, coaches and coaches must stand and line up in a dignified posture on the sidelines or on the foul line” during the performance of the national anthem. “
In 1996, Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf tested the rule when he did not defend the hymn due to his religious and personal beliefs. He was suspended for one game and reached an agreement with the league that allowed him to stand up and cup his hands in front of his face in prayer. However, he was finally spluttered, foreshadowing what would happen to Colin Kaepernick 20 years later in the NFL.
“I respect the unified act of peaceful protest by our teams for social justice and, in these unique circumstances, I will not enforce our long-standing rule that requires us to remain during the execution of our national anthem,” he said. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver about pre-game demos. Silver’s comments contrasted with what he and the league felt three years ago when a memo was sent in 2017 reminding all teams of the league rules when it came to the anthem.
On the court, rust was evident throughout the night as the players returned from a 141-day break from the last game of the regular season. And it wasn’t the players who weren’t in sync, as the referees rated 105 combined fouls Thursday night.
The Pelicans and Jazz combined for 40 turnovers, when Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to lead Utah in scoring with 23 points, while Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley scored 20 to accompany Gobert’s 14 points and 12 rebounds. For the Pelicans, Zion Williamson scored the team’s first 5 points, as he finished the night with 13 points in just 15 minutes because medical personnel still limited him. Brandon Ingram led the way for New Orleans with 23 points. JJ Redick was 21 and Jrue Holiday was 20.
The Lakers were able to get through a poor shooting night as they shot 39 percent from the field and only 30.6 percent from three. Anthony Davis led all scorers with 34 points, as James added 16 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. The Clippers duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined with 58 points, which was 57 percent of the Clippers’ final tally.
With the way things are going in the NFL and MLB, and the uncertainty about college football and basketball, the NBA and WNBA seem to be the only sports that can solve this.
And if that’s the case, the combination of this past weekend and Thursday night proved one thing.
Basketball never stops.
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