Trevor Ariza didn’t want Trae Young to embarrass him. Instead, Ariza embarrassed himself.
During the Atlanta Hawks’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, Young attempted to nutmeg Ariza, who responded by bodychecking Young to put a stoppage in play. Ariza was given a flagrant foul, and justifiably so — he shouldn’t aggressively foul a player for a skilled move.
After the game, Ariza approached Young, apparently to discuss the play. While the interaction seemed cordial, Ariza was apparently unhappy in the locker room after the game — and for no good reason.
“I told him, ‘Don’t do that shit again; not to me at least,’” Ariza said, via The Athletic. “I mean, I’ve never made an All-Defensive team or none of that shit, and he’s an All-Star, so he can be creative by ways to get around me. But all the, like, funnies? I’m not with the funnies. I don’t like the funnies.”
This whole display from Ariza is incredibly lame. He never should have fouled Young in the first place. There’s no rule against nutmegs — nothing written or unwritten. It is embarrassing to get nutmegged, so maybe Ariza should try not getting nutmegged? Play better defense.
That was bad enough. But then Ariza needlessly tried to justify his cheap foul with a tough-guy routine, which fell flat. Young was putting together a highlight-reel play, and Ariza messed up. There’s no reason to pretend he’s in the right for a needless foul. Young was better than Ariza on that possession. That happens in basketball. Get over it.
