There’s a weird, psychological tension around basketball fouls. Not unlike a trial. A single rubbered heartbeat thumps in our collective throats. In basketball litigation, the verdict is televised and delivered in public by the referee’s whistle. Deni Avdija faced more trials than a career criminal in early January, when he scored 41 points in the Portland Trail Blazers’ win over the Houston Rockets. Twenty-eight came from the field. The other 13 were handed to him at the stripe.
The online response was immediate, echoing the criticism that has followed the Israeli all season: he’s a free-throw merchant. It’s a specific kind of hoops pejorative – not quite cheating, but a kind of outsourcing, farming points out to the refs. After the game, Rockets forward Tari Eason was asked what makes Avdija so difficult to guard. His answer was one word: “Zebras.”
