ethical basketball

kyrie irving's masterclass against the spurs

wow, it's been almost a year since i last posted on medium lights.

been working a lot and touching grass. i've watched maybe 10 nba games from start to finish since last year's playoffs.

if you're still here and reading this, you're a real one and i appreciate you.

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kyrie irving might be the league's most enigmatic player. fans place him on a pedestal and critics can't dismiss him quickly enough.

from a "tangible impact players have on their teams' wins and losses over long stretches of time" standpoint, kyrie has always been overrated. but there's no way anyone can deny his artistry and brilliance - all you have to do is watch him play.

the term "ethical basketball" is thrown around in a few niche nba twitter circles. it's typically used when there's a stat line where a player scores like 30+ points on high efficiency with minimal free throw attempts:

i'll take the concept a step farther. foul-baiting and "clever" moves are all "unethical basketball".

there's always a feeling of discomfort when i watch marcus smart flop, see andre miller fake calling a timeout to get a layup, hear joel embiid shout "ayyy" when he goes up in the paint, or watch a team intentionally foul up 3 with two seconds left so their opponent can't get a shot off. prime james harden is probably the most unethical basketball to ever exist.

to me, there's two sides of basketball. one is the organized competition: world class athletes trying to win by any means necessary. which i admire.

the other is about the beauty of the game itself. stripped of all noise, gimmicks, and financial incentives, the game is about throwing a sphere accurately into a circle in the most thrilling and awe-inspiring ways imaginable.

maybe it's just me getting older, but "unethical" yet effective basketball is starting to lose its charm. today's players are so athletic and skilled that dropping a ton of points doesn't thrill like it used to, especially when it's always done via hitting a ton of threes and repeatedly barreling to the rim in hopes of getting a layup or foul call.

kyrie irving's game, however, remains the purest form of ethical basketball.

i'd take his performance against the san antonio spurs - 34 points on 22 shots, only 4 threes and 0 free throw attempts, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists - over any 50+ point performance from any other player this year:

it's the diversity in how he got his points for me. he made 15 field goals in the game. here's the breakdown:

• 2 midrange pull-ups against drop coverage with defender chasing over the screen:

• 1 midrange pull-up with defender going under the screen:

• 2 tear drop floaters:

• 1 layup after rejecting the screen:

• 4 threes:

• 1 left-handed scoop floater:

• 1 give-and-go layup finishing through the big:

• 2 long floaters, one with each hand:

• 1 ridiculous layup after a nasty smitty:

kyrie's 34 felt like a "real" 34 piece.

minimal spot ups, zero handoffs. just straight work.

as a defender, there's nothing you can take away because you can't take away everything. even when you do cut off his initial move, he just adapts and flows to the next counter move. and he has a counter for your counter to his counter.

any spot, any type of shot, either hand, any arm angle, off the catch or off the bounce, with or without a screen - it doesn't matter with kai. he just get buckets.

ethical basketball.

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