Houston beats Boston one hundred and nine to ninety-three. Fourth quarter. Marcus Smart, up against his old team, left wide open from three. Once. Twice. Both in.
That’s a moment. It’s the kind of moment I cut a jingle for myself, on a Tuesday night, in the cafeteria.
Here’s what I would have done on the mic. The bench opposite goes quiet. I bring the sound system down. Two seconds of blank. “Mesdames et messieurs, dames en heren, second three-pointer in a row for…” Blank. “Marcus… Smart!” [jingle]. Make some noise. Both school fête spotlights on the three-point line. The caretaker switches off half the strip lights, as usual. The player has nothing to do, the hall answers for him.
He chose his own answer: middle fingers up at the Celtics bench. He told BasketNews there were pent-up emotions, that some guys on the bench had said something, that he didn’t know who, and that he’d let them hear it back.
I understand the need to answer. A time-out is thirty seconds of me, and I answer everything. But I have a rule at the mic: the hall talks, the player plays. I’m not going to say whether it was right or not. I’m saying a moment like that deserves the sound system.
Eight points, four rebounds, four assists in nearly twenty minutes. Houston has won seven of its first eight games, first in the West. He said the win felt good.
The richest league in the world, and I’m still the one offering a jingle for that moment. Just saying. My jingle is free.
It’s true, we checked: BasketNews.
