In a memorable section of his new book that stirred social media after being posted on this site on Wednesday, veteran striker Jared Dudley explained why the Los Angeles Lakers made such an exception to the Clippers – and Paul George in particular – during the Bubble NBA.
“We think it’s disrespectful for Paul George, who didn’t win, to put himself at the level of Bron and AD. It motivates us, ”wrote Dudley and his co-author, Carvell Wallace, in the Kindle book,“ Inside the NBA Bubble: A Championship Season under Quarantine ”.
Comments were the topic of the day on the NBA’s Twitter, and almost everyone had an opinion on them. And in the evening, they had reached George himself, who was asked to comment after the Clippers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
“God bless you. God bless you, Jared Dudley. I don’t know what it is. Guys love to throw my name at things, but God bless you, Jared.”
Paul George when asked about Jared Dudley’s comments about him. #Clippers pic.twitter.com/wkCrLvnxGq
– Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 4, 2021
Interestingly, “God bless Jared Dudley” was also my reaction when I read that passage, although perhaps for different reasons.
But don’t worry, Paul. We here at Silver Screen and Roll have a passion for service journalism, so we’ve put together a short list of some of the reasons why NBA players like to get their name out of things.
As far as the Lakers are concerned, I would say that this is probably what Duda was referring specifically to.
A little thing? Perhaps, but as Dudley said today, NBA players look for motivation wherever they find it.
I asked Jared Dudley what he would say to someone who says he is not good enough to say what he said about the Clippers. He spoke for about two minutes about his qualifications and how the Lakers saw what was said by the Clippers last year: pic.twitter.com/OP37KSGOyF
– Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) February 3, 2021
As to why guys in the NBA as a whole would feel comfortable shooting at you, well, there’s the fact that you ended up losing in almost every row you had with someone in the league.
For example, there was this:
To which you chose to respond by saying this cheesy shit, for some reason:
And then there was this evisceration, just before his Clippers broke a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals:
There was also, you know, the whole “exploding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals, culminating in this horrendous scene”:
So that’s probably why your name always comes up, I would say. I hope this helps, and yes, God bless Jared Dudley for another fun day on the NBA’s Twitter.
For more Lakers speak, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed at iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.