May 20, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) reacts after making a third quarter basket against the Indiana Pacers at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia 76ers fans — or basketball supporters in general — would be wise not to get in Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal’s way.
The Wizards have dealt with enough from the fans in Philly this season, mostly due to the vocal criticism and more aimed Russell Westbrook’s way.
During Game 2 of Washington’s series in Philly, a Sixers fan dumped popcorn on Westbrook as he went to the locker room with an injury. That’s the opposite of what we means when we say “get your popcorn ready,” for the record.
That’s far from the only incident league-wide, however. Look, it’s easy to understand there might be a learning curve for fans returning to games for the first time since the pandemic, but how many brain cells does it take to understand there is a line that cannot be crossed.
NBA Playoffs: Bradley Beal isn’t playing around, and neither should the NBA
Players need to be ready to defend themselves this postseason. As sad as that is given the amount of security at NBA games, there’s only so much that can be done to prevent one of 20,000+ from doing something stupid.
Beal won’t be shy about throwing hands if necessary, and assuming he’s not going into the stands and merely doing everything to protect himself, I don’t necessarily blame him. This isn’t Malice at the Palace.
The Wizards, meanwhile, are trying to remain in the postseason altogether, facing a must-win Game 5 in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. They’ll face a Sixers team without its best player in Joel Embiid, but still plenty capable with Ben Simmons leading the way from the point guard spot.