Richard Jefferson winkin’ at KD is the Game Inside of the Game! “Hood Sports 101”

"Y'all on one bruh!"

On Christmas Day as I was headed into the Q to see the NBA Finals rematch of the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers I ran into three cats arguin’ about emotion. Plato jumped out of the whip with a drink in his hand and said, “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge.” Dale Carnegie looked at a boy like he was crazy and shouted, “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.” Then Robert Frost, the eloquent poet, poured out a lil’ liquor for all the dead homies when he spit, “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”

Naw playa…poetry is when you old school “yoke” on a boy in a heated rematch of the NBA Finals on Christmas Day in front of Big Momma, KC and Rollo nem! Everybody and their baby’s momma saw KD out there talkin’ a $100 worth of noise all game long, especially after he’d put one down. For you suburban or rural cats that can’t follow me already, yoke or put one down is simply hood for dunk. C’mon bruh! Keep up with me it’s just the second paragraph.

So in the fourth quarter of this foolishness with the Cavs down double digits Richard Jefferson caught KD in the paint and put one in his mouth and gave him the “You din’ know?” look and then winked at him! And the dull ref hit him with a tech! That was so Dull bruh!! Here was Jefferson’s response to that foolishness:

“I was a little bit surprised by it, but I think they were trying to rein it in. The only thing I said to [referee] Sean [Corbin] was, given everything going on out here, a little look and smile and wink [is innocent]. There’s no screaming, there’s no yelling, there’s no fist pumping, there’s no nothing. Just a smile and a wink to another competitor. And KD wasn’t even offended. It’s not like KD said something back to me or felt like it was like, ‘Hey! Hey!’ There was nothing. But again, I respect the referees and the job they have to do.”

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! What blows my mind is that the league wants the ratings to go through the roof but they want to take the emotion out of the game. The NFL is goin’ the same foolishness and can’t figure out why the ratings are down.

Bruh…the game of basketball is an emotional game with emotional players that grew up talkin’ trash on the court. You can’t take the 70 percent of your league that’s black and and tell them not to play with emotion. I would guess that more than 60 percent of that 70 grew up in the hood. Why? Because I cover the NBA, I talk to cats all of the time and they grew up in the same world I did.  So to ask them to play without emotion is ignorant.  I can’t speak for the white players because I didn’t grow up in their environment but I can tell you everything you need to know about growin’ up in urban America playboy. Playin’ sports in the hood without tryin’ to show up the next guy is impossible. It’s Hood Sports 101 bruh.

Let me put it where the goats can get it. If you want to compete in the hood you have to be able to hold your own. Playin’ in the ghetto is where the best games are played. That’s why you see cats that have been able to escape the hood and move to the suburbs take their kids back to the hood to play ball. It’s the only way you’re goin’ to know if your kid is good enough! Ballin’ some nerdy kids in the suburbs where everybody gets a turn and is told that they’re doin’ a great job means absolutely nothin’. Can he ball with some kid talkin’ about his momma and tellin’ him how bad he’s about to school him? Can he ball with a kid in his face tellin’ ’em that he’s garbage for the sake of sayin’ it and none of the adults in the buildin’ are goin’ to stop the abuse. That’s the litmus test bruh! All of these cats in the league have passed that test already.

So to hit Richard Jefferson with a tech for winkin’ at KD was ignorant. KD was probably thinkin’ of the next dunk and what he was gonna say about Jeff’s momma on the way back down the floor. It’s just what it is bruh.

If you aren’t strong mentally you won’t make it. So kids in that environment have learned to be tough early on because those are the ground rules. You can’t afford to get labeled as the kid that can’t take the trash talk because you’ll get targeted everyday. Duns will intentionally go after you just to break you down mentally. Those are the rules and they don’t stop once you get to the NBA bruh.

It’s more than just a game it’s about who’s tougher between the ears. Those that are the toughest mentally usually become the better players. Those that aren’t, typically quit before they get out of middle school. That’s just the way it is. This is the way cats are taught to play the game. The question has always been, how can I get an edge on a boy that has the same amount of talent that I have? There’s no secret formula or magic potion, just rattle him until he breaks. KD was doin’ that the entire game bruh! So when Jeff caught him sleepin’ in the paint he got him. That’s the entertainment value of watchin’ this foolishness play out.

The game is a lot more fun to play when everyone understands the rules of engagement. The weak players were eliminated in middle school so that the real trash talkers make it to high school. Then the celebrations and talk gets even louder and more harsh. By the time guys make it to college it’s at a fever pitch. Why do you think that the Miami Hurricanes were so successful in the 1980’s through 2001? In a span of twenty years they won 5 national championships! Yes, they were obviously better than most teams but they also got into their opponents heads and wore them down.

It’s much easier to beat cats that are internalizin’ the tauntin’ and takin’ it personal. It’s called “gamesmanship” playboy. In the hood it’s called, “backin’ a boy up off of you!” and Richard Jefferson was simply backin’ a boy up off of him.

I can beat you as long as I’ve got you doubtin’ yourself and many times that means tryin’ to embarrass you in front of Big Momma nem the process. If I’m successful at doin’ that, I’ll beat you 100% of the time. So that’s why Rich winked at ole boy. He was tryin’ to get into his head. It the Game inside the Game bruh!

Muhammad Ali was the king at doin’ it! Michael Irving “The Playmaker” and Deion Sanders “Prime Time” were very affective at doin’ it as well. Remember when Billy “White Shoes” Johnson would do the crazy legs in the end zone and people would go crazy? That made the game more fun to play and watch. It’s entertainment isn’t it? But more importantly he was tryin’ to get into the other teams head. Why are people tryin’ to take the attitude out of the game? That’s what makes the Game the Game! And that’s why the ratings in the NFL are fallin’! Don’t take the emotion away because you’ll take the eyes away.

Let them play and hold the whistle until somebody gets out of hand and are about to scrap or something. Otherwise, let them play because you can’t change the dun that you went and got. They’re in the NBA because they’ve passed the litmus test a long time ago bruh. Stop me when I start lyin’!

Playas Thesaurus: 

1)  Whip: noun – luxury vehicle

2) Spit: verb – to say

3) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.

4) Nem: noun – hood for the words,  “and them”

5) Dull: adjective – to describe something as bein’ terrible, something that makes you sick with disgust because it’s so stupid to even think of.

6) Put it where the goats can get it: verb phrase – to make it as elementary as possible. To put it at ground level so everyone can understand it.

The caption under the photo isn’t real but its REAL talk!