Clarkson going after Dragic. pic.twitter.com/aPLsW5t142
— Will Manso (@WillManso) January 7, 2017
Square up homie!
Jordan Clarkson and Goran Dragic turned a screen into a small scuffle on Friday night. Who started the physicality is a bit unclear, and frankly, unimportant. Dragic set a screen, which wasn’t set by the time he and Clarkson first bumped into each other. And it didn’t help that Clarkson’s initial reaction was to wrap his arms around Dragic.
The two eventually made their way to the basket, where things crossed a line. Depending on who you ask, Clarkson’s shove was a little too much, or Dragic may just have overreacted to it. Then an official and teammates had to be involved.
I can’t tell what I love more about this small confrontation: Dragic trying to be slick by tackling Clarkson twice and immediately falling flat on his back, or Clarkson going from 0 to 100 and putting his hands up once Dragic wants to fight.
Probably the latter. Clarkson looked bothered by the shoving at first but not enough to change his overall demeanor. Then, as Dragic charged towards him, conveniently after the referee already separated the two, Clarkson squared up. Clarkson was ready the entire time. It already didn’t look great for Dragic, but it could have been a lot worse.
But seriously, how are you going to start a fight when your first attempt to look tough ends up with you on the court?
He should have taken the L then and it wouldn’t have been as bad.
Dragic has lost teeth on the court before, albeit not through fighting, but I’m sure he wouldn’t want to lose another one to Clarkson, or anyone else for that matter.
While Clarkson and Dragic should take a few minutes to relax and forget the incident ever happened, Temecula is just 90 miles away from Staples Center.