BOSTON — A veteran NBA star missed two consecutive jump shots Tuesday, triggering an emergency nationwide assessment of whether he is officially washed.
“We cannot ignore what we just saw,” said one studio analyst, referring to 73 seconds of basketball in the second quarter.
The player entered the game averaging nearly identical numbers to last season, but observers noted that neither missed jumper went in, a development several accounts described as “telling.”
Slow-motion clips of the misses were compared with footage from five years earlier, with particular attention paid to knee bend, facial expression, and an alleged decline in “burst aura.”
Fans split into camps arguing either that the veteran is finished or that questioning him is disrespectful, leaving no room for the possibility that players occasionally miss shots.
The veteran later scored 24 points, which critics acknowledged but said did not erase what happened at 8:41 and 7:28 of the second quarter.
A follow-up washed assessment is scheduled after his next field-goal attempt.
