It's the question on absolutely every sports fan's mind this morning: How amped up was Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to kick off the 2014-15 NBA season against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night? Would you believe, "Throw down a dunk, rip your mouthpiece out to roar with excitement, and whip said mouthpiece at a bystanding referee" amped?
You wouldn't? Seriously? I mean, it's pretty believable. It's not like I said, "He ripped off his skin mask and incinerated John Henson with his fire breath." And besides, I thought we'd built up a certain level of trust over the years. This is ... kind of hurtful, actually.
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Anyway, here:
The replays of MKG's second-quarter runout dunk kind of cut off the grand aftermath a bit, but luckily the fine folks at SB Nation captured it in all its gobby glory:
Only two nights into the season and we've already got a slow-motion GIF of an official reacting in disgust to a mouthpiece hitting him in the run of play. So glad to have you back, NBA season.
Kidd-Gilchrist isn't the first NBA player to hit a referee with a mouthpiece. Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson earned a one-game suspension for doing so back in December 2012, but his protective projectile was flung in frustration rather than celebration; hitting the zebra there seemed more intentional than incidental. Udonis Haslem didn't hit Joey Crawford with his mouthpiece, but merely throwing it "in the direction of" the famously cantankerous ref was enough to earn the Miami Heat big man an ejection and suspension during the 2006 playoffs.
Other players whose mouthpieces landed in the stands rather than in the ref's hip pocket have received fines for their heaves in the past because, as it turns out, the league office doesn't much like the idea of the ticket-buying public getting splattered with players' saliva after a disagreement over a foul call. We suspect MKG won't see any such discipline, though; he was just havin' a little fun, is all.
While the Hornets were still trailing in the second quarter of the grand re-opening at the Hive after a rough start that had some boos cascading down from the rafters at Time Warner Cable Arena, Kidd-Gilchrist did have plenty to be excited about on Wednesday.
The early returns on his reworked shooting stroke looked promising, as the former Kentucky standout paired his customarily stout perimeter defense with 17 points on 6 for 8 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks in the Hornets' 108-106 overtime win over the visiting Bucks. The No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft provided the first inklings of proof that all his hard work with shooting coach Mark Price has finally paid off, and point guard Kemba Walker provided the late-game heroics, completing a 24-point comeback that ranks as the largest in Charlotte's NBA history and sending Buzz City home happy after an emotionally charged season opener.
“We were all too amped up,” veteran reserve point guard Jannero Pargo told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer after the game.
See? Told you so.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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