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In case you've been struck deaf, dumb, blind, and tactilely insensitive, Matthew Dellavedova has caused something of a stir in the NBA by either playing hard or purposefully hurting people, depending on who you ask.
He leg-locked Taj Gibson after being pushed to the floor by the same. He rolled up Kyle Korver's ankle diving for a loose ball, and also somehow attracted the ire of Al Horford. Horford of course got ejected after dropping the People's Elbow on Dellavedova, but it was what Horford had to say about it that really caught me.
"We're out there competing," he said. "But he's gotta learn, I mean he's only been in this league for a couple of years or whatever, but he's gotta learn that at the end of the day it's a big brotherhood here. Guys look out for each other and, I don't think that it was malicious, but he's gotta learn."
There was a whole media discussion about whether or not Dellavedova was dirty or just played really hard. Al Horford's quote speaks to a bigger truth about the NBA though: the players are actually just coworkers. I've got no problem with the way Dellavedova plays, but it does put his coworkers (none of whom could be arsed to get on the floor for a loose ball in the playoffs) at risk.
I enjoy the level of effort in NCAA games. I like seeing guys go after the ball the way Dee Davis and players like him did. I guess I just prefer watching a league where you have to punch Ryan Arcidiacono in the face to get called dirty.