Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan expressed dismay when former teammate Pascal Siakam broke the league’s unwritten rule of not shooting when the game is already decided.
The Toronto Raptors were already assured of a 120-108 win on Saturday when Siakam took a three-pointer in the final possession of the game.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković said they needed to increase their lead as point differential matters in an NBA In-Season Tournament match-up.
But since Toronto is already out of contention in the In-Season Tournament’s knock-out stages despite the victory, DeRozan saw no reason for Siakam to break the unwritten rule.
“I don’t care about no In-Season Tournament points, none of that. Just respect for the game. If the role was flip-flopped and I had the ball, hold it. It is what it is,” DeRozan told NBC Sports Chicago.
“I mean, I knew that (they were eliminated). But I didn’t care about that either. Just everybody was yelling at him, ‘Score, score, score.’ Take the win. Get out of here. Like I said, if roles were reversed, needing in-season tournament points or not, just for the respect I have for my opponents, I would hold the ball, especially if there’s no shot clock. That’s just me,” the veteran guard added.
With the win, the Raptors improved to 8-8 in the season, but they are only 1-2 in the In-Season Tournament.
On the other hand, the Bulls’ struggles continue as they fell to 0-3 in the In-Season Tournament and 5-12 in the season overall.
from players wondering why their bench is yelling to score at end of blowouts, to Memphis crowd tonight, now this in Toronto: there continues to be confusion across the NBA why teams arent dribbling out the clock. DeRozan tilts here, Rajakovic tells him “in-season tournament!” pic.twitter.com/YoPcMKnWyu
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 25, 2023
The post DeMar DeRozan takes offense as Pascal Siakam breaks ‘unwritten rule’ first appeared on Fastbreak.
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