Preseason action tipped off last night with the Clippers beating the Nuggets, 103-96, after opening up an 18-point lead to start the fourth. The Nuggets obviously came back, led by rookie Emmanual Mudiay (who, despite shooting poorly, had two of his three triples in the final session). But none of that is very important because DeAndre Jordan used one on-court cameraman as target practice when Kenneth Faried’s sneaker fell off during play.
Throwing an opponent’s sneaker isn’t new. Then-Laker Ronnie Price threw his own sneaker at Andre Iguodala last season to stop a Warriors fast break and inevitable easy bucket. Before that, Dwayne Wade provided more fodder for those who say he plays dirty when he threw Mike Bibby’s shoe during the 2012 Playoffs. All’s fair in love and playoff basketball.
But in neither case did the shoe also happen to strike an on-court cameraman. That is until Friday night.
Faried lost his baby-blue and yellow kick and DJ threw it back towards the baseline as much to mess up Faried as to remove an obstruction on the court. But the casual flick of the wrist by Jordan sent the shoe sailing all the way towards the opposite baseline and the cameraman tracking its trajectory wasn’t able to get out of the way in time.
Stay safe out there, NBA cameraman. And DJ, watch where you’re whipping Faried’s big sneaks next time. NBA kicks are bigger than most and can really hurt.
(GIF via reddit)
