I’m not a fan of basketball’s unwritten rule at the end of blowouts

Golden State Warriors Washington Wizards game at Oracle Arena in Oakland

I hate this “unwritten rule” for several reasons. First off, unwritten rules are for the whiners playing baseball. Second, holding the ball as the shot clock winds down drags out the game an extra 5 seconds! Shoot the ball and the clock keeps running. Hold the ball and the clock stops. You’d think a team that was getting its doors blown off would want to get into the locker-room as quickly as possible.

I can see getting pissed if an opposing player is jacking up a three with 10 seconds or more remaining on the shot clock. But with the shot clock winding down? Consider it an act of mercy.

I also don’t like Brandon Jennings as the NBA’s old-school gatekeeper:

“It was very disrespectful,” Jennings said. “Thank God he didn’t go to the rack, it probably would’ve been worse for him. But a time like that, I think you should just let the clock run out.”

“It’s just a rule,” Jennings continued. “I learned it when I first came into the league not to do that. I mean, you’re already up 20 … and then for him to do it, it was kind of like ‘Come on. Chill out. Now you’re trying to embarrass us.’”

The Mercury News went so far as to find 3 instances where the Wizards pulled this disrespectful stunt in lopsided victories. Oh the horror…

What say you?

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