Look, Australians by and large aren’t anywhere near as naturally gifted at basketball as a lot of other nations. That’s a simple fact.
And that’s painfully apparent when it comes to America and the NBA. Unless you’re 7-foot tall and built like a brick shithouse, you’re gonna have to find different ways to hang.
So we hustle. We play a bit grittier. By American standards, it’s *dirtier*. But hey, results are results.
And it’s all hard to argue with when Matthew Dellavedova is entering his second consecutive NBA Finals series for the Cleveland Cavaliers, not merely as a number on a depth chart but a trusted backup guard who sees some serious court time.
That feat alone is absolutely worth recognition; the amount of hard work and defensive hustle he’s had to put in just to get here is truly one of the best Australian sporting success stories of the past decade.
Anyway, my point is that Delly totally smacked Andre Iguodala in the nuts during today’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals and it was bloody hilarious.
[Editor’s Note: Video has since been deleted]
Ruling: Common foul on Matthew Dellavedova https://t.co/SoJ3z1U4j0
— USA TODAY Sports NBA (@usatodaynba) June 3, 2016
Australian native Matthew Dellavedova hits Iggy “down under” https://t.co/052MFxqbT0
— Barely In Bounds (@BarelyIn) June 3, 2016
Totally accidental, obviously. And Iggy quite rightfully got a little testy about it.
But if you’re gonna willingly step onto a court with Australians you’ve gotta expect an occasional inadvertent squirrel grip. A cock shot. The ole’ Christmas handshake.
It’s just how we do.
All that said, it didn’t help the Cavs today. The Golden State Warriors took out game one comfortably, 104-89.
Source: Twitter.
