There are only a few times that Gilbert Arenas make sense with his basketball takes but his latest one concerning Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s desire to make fist fights legal is being bought by a lot of fans.
Mazzulla recently made headlines when he expressed his desire to have players fight on the court for entertainment, similar to how it is done in the National Hockey League. He made the statement after he was asked by NBC Boston what rule change he would want to see in the league.
Arenas was not amused. The three-time All-Star thinks the fight feature has many loophole.
First thing he mentioned was about the imbalance when it comes to strength. He thought some players are just physically stronger than the rest.
He specifically asked:
“Is there someone on his team that thinks if Isaiah Stewart is allowed to punch one of them in the face, does he think one of them won’t get their face or jaw broken?”
“Which one of his players does he think will have a chance against someone like [Isaiah Stewart], someone like Draymond Green if they actually threw a punch & connected?” he went on.
Stewart is playing for the Detroit Pistons and as young he is, he is already known for fights, including getting suspended for punching Drew Eubanks.
Arenas also talked about the possibility of players missing games for receiving punches, just like the infamous incident involving Rudy Tomjanovich who was punched in the face, almost died, and his season ended. He only got to play for three seasons after that.
This makes sense as unlike in hockey, NBA players don’t have protective gears.
Joe Mazzulla’s fight desire may endanger superstars
Another great point made by Arenas is the danger of fights that will bring upon star players who he believe, as what he would do if ever, will be targeted by bruisers.
“I’m gonna attack only the star player. I don’t give a f*** about the rest of your team,” he said in the show.
“I’m gonna try to take out the Luka [Doncic], the Kyrie [Irving]. I want the people that can affect the game.”
“Imagine if Shaq was allowed to hit someone”, he asked sarcastically.
Instead, Arenas hilariously suggested that maybe, it should be the coaches who should be allowed to fight, pitting the 6’2 Mazzulla against giant Darvin Ham.
Right now, it appears impossible for Mazzulla’s suggestion to happen.
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