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I gave Kevin Love the benefit of the doubt when he first accused Kelly Olynyk of intentionally dislocating his shoulder during the Boston Celtics‘ Game 4 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. He was likely aware at the time that his season was over and was speaking out of emotion. Guess not. Almost two weeks removed from the incident, and after a successful surgery, Love and his representatives have repeatedly denied Olynyk’s attempts to speak with Love privately and apologize.
There’s no denying that Olynyk grabbed Love by the arm in a fight for a loose ball, but for Love to accuse Olynyk of intentionally dislocating his shoulder is just wrong. Olynyk has no prior history of dirty or malicious play. The only thing dirty about Olynyk is that awful looking beard on his face.
Guys tangle up and lock arms with one another in almost every single game. It’s a part of rebounding. Some guys are less athletic than others and have to try and be a little more physical. Evan Turner, Olynyk’s teammate, simply attributed the play to a mismatch in talent. According to boston.com, Turner said, “Kelly can’t box out to save his life…he boxes out teammates out like that all the time in practice.”
Even the league doesn’t truly believe that Olynyk’s intent was to injure Love. The one game suspension they handed down was to appease Love and the Cavaliers more than anything else. If the league believes intentionally injuring another player warrants only a one-game suspension, there are bigger issues at hand.
Love’s frustration is understandable. Obviously this is not the way he wanted the first playoff appearance of his career to end — especially since the Cavaliers have a legitimate shot at winning the NBA Championship. After subpar performances in Games 1 and 2, he appeared to find his groove in Game 3. Then his season came to a screeching halt early in the first quarter of Game 4.
Love doesn’t have to be friends with Olynyk, but is it really necessary to refuse his apology? Maybe if Love boxed Olynyk out during the game as well as he is now, he would still be on the court. He doesn’t have to have a face-to-face conversation. All Love has to do is answer a simple phone call and move on with it. Jockeying for position is a part of the game. The end result of this play was unfortunate, but there was nothing malicious or dirty about it. Accept Olynyk’s apology and move on.
Was this “bush-league”?
Seconds earlier @marcelluswiley roles reversed – Kelly trying to pull his arm free – #ItsPartOfTheGame #Unfortunate pic.twitter.com/B6asRILxiS
— Rick Fox (@RickFox) April 27, 2015
Derek McVay is a Boston Celtics beat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mcvay34, or add him to your network on Google.
