One of the roles of veteran players is to teach those coming up the ranks the school of hard knocks. You let down your guard once, you pay a physical penalty. That is the NBA of any era, though some claim its been forgotten in today's softening environment. Case in point, Cooper Flaggās attempt at a fast break dunk off a steal in the second game of ā26-27, against none other than the Pacersā Aaron Nesmith.
Coop somehow anticipated, extended, and intercepted a pass by Pascal Siakam to Nesmith, after which he was off to the races against Gainbridgeās resident track runner. A dicey proposition in any circumstance, but particularly so when seeking to cap a demoralizing route where grudge mentality comes to the fore.
There were two opposing forces at work, with very few options in-between. Coop, with sophomore aspirations of greatness, had no choice but to aim for the highlight dunkāwhile Double A was morally bound to try and stuff him, quell the boos and give Pacers fansā33 points down in the first half of a long awaited Haliburton home opener returnāsome foundation of grit on which to base future hopes.
Cooper is 19 and Nesmith 27, which in basketball is a lifetime. The young gun of the moment probably assumed AA had lost his step years ago, rodeoāing the likes of LeBron and Giannis on their rampages to the basket. That Giannis take down that led to the meltdown āgame ballā incident. The semifinals takedown of Bron in the inaugural In-Season Tournament that simply does not exist on Youtube.
Coop must also have banked on Nesmith treating a hamstring injury that restricts his minutes on the floor (and made him miss Game One) with respect. I get this one, I cement my legacy in Indiana forever. That must have been Coopās rationale. But one should never ignore historic precedent.
Nesmithās chase down of LeBron in late ā23 in Vegas was a thing of beauty. A few plays before Bron had stepped in front of McConnell in full flight, sending our secondary PG sprawling on the garishly painted court. On the next play Nesmith body checked Lebron with such stoutness that the presumptive King wound up clutching his stomach, complaining to the refs.
Still the Lakers were grinding it out in an all out effort, LeBron and AD playing catch around the rim and the Pacers falling behind. Lo and behold, Lebron gets a fast break opportunity, a chance to take it the length of the court unimpeded and break Indyās spirit. Except Double A is a few paces behind and says naw. He catches up and shadows him, taking him down with a wrestling move under the net that deposits Bron neatly on the floor, safe and uninjured as a newborn. I distinctly remember announcer Doris Burke jumping out her seat and commenting, āthatās the kind of foul we want to see more of.ā
Exhibit two, Nesmithās take down of Ja Morant mid-air on a dunk attempt the season prior (a response to getting intentionally hammered by Grizz heavies three times in the first half). Nesmith was in legal guarding position, Ja was attempting some fancy flight work and he paid the price, out for months. The unsettling laser-pointers-in-parking-lot incident stemmed from that and that was the last we heard from Ja in positive terms for a good long while. To his credit, he has worked to build credibility and seems to be balling out with the Blazers.
From that perspective, AA actually did Coop a favor, schooling him not to get ahead of himself. The shoulder injury was not severe, though it sent him to the locker room with a sprain. Never mind all the fan comments of Nesmith as a dirty player. He is not, the Pacers are known as much as any team for ethical basketballāhe is just about keeping it real.
Coop may be a true basketball talent with generational passing and scoring instincts, but he has not earned the right to dominate. Beyond the message, and yeah Nesmith was just out of ball swatting range, but thatās hard to predict in the momentāthe injury was as much due to Coopās poor coordination on the landing as anything. Way I see it, he got hesitant when he sensed Nesmith closing in, there was a slight hitch, but it was too late to change course. As one Youtube commentator put it:
"so chase down blocks have never happened and every defender who gets beat should just not contest the shot? What a stupid ass thought. this league and fans so soft they calling for automatic buckets to count because players these days don't know how to take or avoid an obvious window for a hard foul. Coop goes to the left of the rim there and the defender can't even touch him. Instead he goes for the extra highlight, and he gets a hard foul for it. Somebody should teach him some risk reward analysis."
My advice to Coop is, do your homework before doing anything that remotely showboats when a board crasher like Double A is anywhere within 15 feet of your flight path. Defense like this has been going on since the days of the Celtics and chase-downs of the likes of Victor Oladipo in the ā22 Eastern Conference Finals, and itāll continue so long as Nesmithās determination is high and the joints cooperate.
More Anson Bridges fluff.
