Perhaps he was just trying to inject energy into a team that has lacked any type of passion or motivation through the first chunk of the NBA season. When Javale McGee threw a pass off the backboard to himself and slammed it home on Monday, Wizards coach Flip Saunders benched him. Apparently Saunders wants the team to stop being horrible before they start contributing to any highlight reels. On Tuesday, Jalen Rose blamed ESPN for McGee’s dunk.
“You know who I blame? I blame the Worldwide Leader,” Rose said on Sportscenter according to Game On! “When you’re a team that’s struggling, get the 2 points, get back on defense, rebound, block some shots, make some multiple efforts. Because you’re the Washington Generals when you’re 1-12. Now, when you’re 12-1, then you’re the Wizards or the (Harlem) Globetrotters.”
Rose said it is the fault of the “MTV Generation” that plays like the McGee one happen. He also said that the producers of ESPN’s “Top Plays” are simply looking for the best plays of the day, regardless of team accolades. He has a point.
In one sense, I agree with Rose and Saunders that it was a bonehead move by McGee. He probably should have just settled for a standard dunk rather than trying to spice things up. However, there’s a possibility McGee was trying to provide a spark for a struggling team and wake up a miserable home crowd. Clearly it didn’t work — as evidenced by the fact that they lost again — but you can’t blame a guy for trying.
