Golden State Warriors rookie Jordan Bell caused quite a stir just four games into his NBA career when he threw down an off-the-backboard, self-alley-oop slam in garbage time against the Dallas Mavericks earlier in the season. Many criticized the rookie, who supposedly disrespected Dallas with his ostentatious dunk.
But with the Warriors set to play the Mavs for the first time since that incident, Bell has sarcastically promised to be on his best behavior and won’t even attempt to dunk at all during the game.
Per Melissa Rohlin of the Bay Area News Group:
Article Continues BelowJordan Bell, who was criticized for dunk v Dallas during a blowout game, said on Thursday he's not gonna dunk. “All layups, all layups. I don't want to send the wrong message.”
Bell has been getting much more playing time recently, in part because Draymond Green has missed a couple of games due to a sore shoulder. And with Green still listed as doubtful against Dallas, Bell is likely to play big minutes once again, which means he'll have to really control himself in order to stand by his tongue-in-cheek promise of strictly avoiding dunks.
Although, there may not be much garbage time for Bell to try any funny business this time around with Dallas playing much more competitively in recent weeks. The Mavs have gone 6-6 over the last 12 games, with their six losses all coming by eight points or fewer.