To play or not to play? The dunk that sparked divide

A war of words erupted following the Perth Wildcats and Adelaide 36ers’ Round 22 fixture at RAC Arena.

Despite holding a comfortable double-digit lead with 10 seconds to play, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. punctuated the moment with a powerful dunk.

This agitated 36ers coach Mike Wells, who had some choice words for Perth counterpart John Rillie in the handshake line.

Then, when asked about the moment in the post-game press conference, Wells said “It wasn't a big deal to me what happened at the end, but I didn't think JLA needed to go and score at the end when the points differential was no longer a factor for either team. Both teams were in the playoffs already, so I saw no real need.”

In reply, Rillie said “Mike can have his thoughts on those moments that happen in a game, but I'm fine with what happened. Americans often don't understand the cultural difference, so it’s a learning experience.”

While both trying to play it down, it sparked discussion of what players in the league should do if they were in similar situations.

During the regular season with points percentage very much in play in the jostle for positions, NBL teams traditionally play right up until the final buzzer.

But on Monday’s episode of NBL Overtime, Felix von Hofe said he understood Wells’ stance on the matter.

“He is a hardened NBA guy, and that is a cardinal sin in the NBA,” Von Hofe said on NBL Overtime.

However, Von Hofe’s fellow NBL Overtime panellists, Damon Lowery and Pete Hooley, saw it differently, suggesting Wells may have overplayed the situation.

“Mike hasn't been here long enough to know [the protocols here in the NBL], because that can start a fight in the NBA,” Lowery said.

“I was the same when I first got here. I was like, what are you doing, taking shots?

“The thing is ... we saw Melbourne United miss out on the Finals by one bucket [a few seasons ago].

“[Honestly] if you're going to get offended by that, you should have been playing better defence and you should have got back on defence.

“The longer Mike is here, I’m sure he'll eventually come around and calm down.”

Hooley agreed, encouraging all teams to play up until time expires.

“Mike is saying, in this particular instance, where everything was set and no one could move [on the ladder], the two points wasn’t going to change anything,” Hooley said. “But we're still in the regular season, so you can’t just switch off the mentality because every bucket matters. We play to the whistle.

“I've got no issue with teams that continue to play until the end of the final siren, because that’s what you do in Finals, when point differential isn’t a factor.”

The NBL26 Finals tip off on Wednesday, March 4, with the Seeding Qualifier between South East Melbourne and Perth at John Cain Arena from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.