Q: Can\u2019t we all just have fun?\u00a0 Who cares how it happened?\u00a0 So many people claiming to know how Kobe Bryant would have felt. WTF does it matter? \u2013 J.B.<\/p>\n
A: Look, sports and sanctimonious have gone hand in hand from the earliest of days of newspaper columnists to the most recent of social-media outlets. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But, yes, you nailed it \u2013 Tuesday night at Kaseya Center<\/a> was about the fun, the magic of never knowing what you might get to see when you attend a sporting event. This is an assumption I feel comfortable in: Not a single person in that arena, no matter how many were in that arena, were debating Bam Adebayo\u2019s place in history, comparing him to Kobe Bryant or Wilt Chamberlain, as if anyone ever thought he was either. During the NBA regular season, you simply don\u2019t get many moments like that. Look, the outcome was decided. The Heat were getting the victory they needed, the Wizards getting the loss they wanted. The fouls were legitimate, or as legitimate as calls in any other game. And yes, the Heat did intentionally miss a free throw (God bless Keshad Johnson), and yes, the Heat did foul to extend the game. Because who doesn\u2019t want to extend a good time? Was it silly at the end? Sure. But, it\u2019s sports, it\u2019s an outlet, an escape, fun. The shame is not the position the Heat put those Wizards players in, it\u2019s the position the Wizards put their players in, by deciding not to field a competitive roster, one so non-competitive, it couldn\u2019t even keep up to a Heat roster lacking Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Kel\u2019el Ware, all of whom have been starters for the Heat this season. And shame on the NBA for allowing the Wizards to be this disinterested.<\/p>\n Q: I have no issue with the fouls themselves. I take issue with the Heat both intentional fouling and intentionally missing free throws to get Bam Adebayo extra possessions. \u2013 Tom.<\/p>\n