The NBA’s declining ratings have been a big talking point all season long and there has been a lot of debate on what can be done to fix the problem. Well, NBA fans hilariously reckon that the players have found the solution, based on the brawls we have seen recently.
“NBA Ratings went down and everyone just
started fighting all of a sudden. The Heat vs. Rockets game ended in a fight that led to
the ejection of 4 players and 2 coaches.”
The most recent of the brawls we witnessed was kickstarted by Amen Thompson and Tyler Herro when the Houston Rockets took on the Miami Heat on Sunday. Thompson slammed Herro to the ground in the fourth quarter and all hell broke loose afterward.
Amen Thompson and Tyler Herro fight 👀 pic.twitter.com/VGp1KBXzJH
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 30, 2024
In the aftermath, Thompson, Herro, Jalen Green, Terry Rozier, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, and Rockets assistant coach Ben Sullivan were all ejected. Thompson is likely to be suspended over this incident as well but it’s unclear for how long.
Just a couple of days before this brawl, we witnessed one during the game between the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. Some Mavericks players took offense to an offensive foul committed by Jusuf Nurkic in the third quarter and Naji Marshall made that clear to him in no uncertain terms. Nurkic responded by striking him in the face and Marshall punched him in retaliation.
Jusuf Nurkic, Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington were all ejected after this scuffle in Mavs-Suns. pic.twitter.com/A3Gk7eBYlI
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 28, 2024
P.J. Washington then shoved Nurkic and for a second, it looked like things might go horribly wrong here. Fortunately, officials, coaches, and some players managed to diffuse the situation. The NBA suspended Marshall for four games, Nurkic for three, and Washington for one afterward.
Prior to these two incidents, we had also seen Ron Holland and Jordan Clarkson square up when the Detroit Pistons took on the Utah Jazz on Dec. 19. No punches were thrown, though.
While the only notable recent brawls were the ones mentioned earlier, we have seen one too many of these altercations between players off late. It might well be helping ratings a little bit, but that’s surely not why they’ve been happening.
The NBA certainly doesn’t want to see the players fighting or squaring up in this manner. They are desperate to avoid another Malice at the Palace but not everyone is against the occasional fights.
In fact, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla even advocated for fighting to come back to the NBA.
“The biggest thing that we rob people of, from an entertainment standpoint, is you can’t fight anymore. I wish you could bring back fighting.”
“I just don’t get why some sports are allowed to clear the benches.”
“We just have a ball. The other sport has one of the hardest surfaces and playing instrument in pucks and sticks and we’re not allowed to throw down a little bit?”
Well, Mazzulla sure would have been pleased to see these two fights break out. He nearly got into a fight himself on Dec. 19, the same day the Holland-Clarkson incident took place, but it wasn’t with a player or a coach. Mazzulla was furious with referee Justin Van Duyne after the Chicago Bulls beat the Celtics 117-108.
Fortunately, Mazzulla was held back or else he might have landed himself in a whole lot of trouble. While fights and altercations might lead to the NBA grabbing some more eyeballs, it’d be better if some safer solutions were found to the problems.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
