This is one of those moments that ordinary people like myself and the majority of folks on this planet are supposed to take pride in. Like when a pro golfer is on the course and they duff a shot you always see someone on Twitter or even the announcer saying that it’s nice to see professionals look like amateurs. Lets the people at home relate to that professional for one second. I never understood that nor do I feel good about seeing Broncos rookie RB, and surprise guy who is doing well this year Phillip Lindsay air ball a free throw.
Perception
That’s not a good look. That’s not a look that even a 7 year old who’s not a professional athlete can wear well. I’m sure Phil was all pumped that he got invited to the Nuggets game something I’m sure a few weeks wasn’t really a possibility unless he used his Broncos connections to get hooked up with tickets. I’m sure he thought “man, this is great, I own this town. Life is awesome. I’ll just take some practice shots, drain it, and own the night.” Sounds like a great plan on paper, but you have to make the shot or at the very least hit the hoop. His form was all there, he had his foot in front of his other one, bent his knees and then nothing. The ball went nowhere. It makes me think that he’s only practiced getting into position to shoot free throws but never actually had the ball leave his hands.
Nobody Wins
Everyone loses here. Obviously, Phil loses because now he’s known as the NFL player that can’t hit a hoop that’s not moving where there is no defense. His teammates probably start looking at him differently. I mean, how can they trust a guy to get a crucial 4th and 1 when he can’t even hit the front iron? I wouldn’t even be surprised if his season and career take a nose dive after this. You can bet your soul that I will be paying attention to his performance more closely AAB, which stands for After Air Ball. BAAB, Before Air Ball Lindsay was a solid running back. AAB Lindsay has Royce Freeman liking his chops. The fans lose here because how can they believe in a player to make the right pickup in pass pro or insert him into their fantasy lineups if the player can’t even thunderously hurl the ball off the backboard, something that is a hallmark of a bad basketball player. Finally, I lose. I lose because I don’t want to have professionals out there who look anything like me. I’m me, I’m bad at sports. You’re finely tuned athletic machines that should be able to heave a ball 15ft. at a stationary object.
The Next Step
What Phil needs to do now is get himself in the gym and start taking his celebrity free throw shooting a bit more seriously. Maybe he can be the posterboy who brings the “granny” style of free throw shooting back to the mainstream. A few NBA players are doing it now, but Lindsay has the story of what can happen if you take free throw shooting for granted. A story like his is exactly what Rick Barry needs to bring underhand shooting back to the league. I suppose when he has that down, Phil can back to his 9-5 job of being a starting running back. But, it’s safe to say that if America gets bored with traditional sports, he will not be a high round pick in the new sports leagues.
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