In a memorable section of his new book that made waves on social media after it was published on this website on Wednesday, veteran forward Jared Dudley explained why the Los Angeles Lakers took such exception to the Clippers — and Paul George in particular — during the NBA Bubble.
“We think it’s disrespectful for Paul George, who hasn’t won, to put himself on the level of Bron and AD. This motivates us,” Dudley and his co-author, Carvell Wallace, wrote in the Kindle book, “Inside the NBA Bubble: A Championship Season under Quarantine.”
The comments were the topic-du-jour on NBA Twitter for the day, and just about everyone had an opinion on them. And by the evening, they had made it to George himself, who was asked to comment after the Clippers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
“God bless him. God bless you, Jared Dudley. I don’t know what it is. Dudes love throwing my name in stuff, but god bless you, Jared.”
Paul George when asked about Jared Dudley’s comments about him. #Clippers pic.twitter.com/wkCrLvnxGq
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 4, 2021
Funnily enough, “God bless Jared Dudley” was also my reaction when I read that passage, albeit maybe for different reasons.
But don’t worry Paul. We here at Silver Screen and Roll have a passion for service journalism, and so we put together a short list with a few of the reasons why NBA players like to throw your name in stuff.
As far as the Lakers go, I’d say this is likely what Dudley was referencing specifically.
A small thing? Perhaps, but as Dudley said today, NBA players look for motivation wherever they can find it.
I asked Jared Dudley what he’d say to someone who says he’s not good enough to say what he said about the Clippers. He spoke for around two minutes on his qualifications, and how the Lakers viewed what was said by the Clippers last year: pic.twitter.com/OP37KSGOyF
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) February 3, 2021
As far as why guys in the NBA as a whole would feel comfortable taking shots at you, well, there is the fact that you’ve come out on the losing end of pretty much every feud you’ve had with anyone in the league.
For example, there was this:
Which you chose to respond to by saying this corny shit, for some reason:
And then there was this evisceration, right before your Clippers blew a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals:
There was also, you know, the whole “blowing a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals culminating in this horrendous shot” thing:
So those are probably why your name keeps coming up, I’d say. So hopefully this helps, and yes, God bless Jared Dudley for another fun day on NBA Twitter.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.