Mike Greenberg isn’t typically known for his hot takes. In fact, he would likely even admit he’s somewhat mild-mannered.
But after watching a clip of Jamal Murray dodging questions from the media about throwing his heating pad on the court during the Denver Nuggets’ loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals, the ESPN host could hardly contain himself. Over the course of a nearly two-minute monologue, Greenberg repeatedly referred to Murray’s response as “pathetic,” in a rant more reminiscent of Stephen A. Smith or Chris “Mad Dog” Russo than himself.
Mike Greenberg on Jamal Murray refusing to answer questions about throwing his heating pad on the court: "That response from Jamal Murray is one of the weakest things I've ever seen in my 35 years covering sports. What he did was practically unprecedented in NBA history and to… pic.twitter.com/EoKnYh91d8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 9, 2024
“I think this just has to be said: That response from Jamal Murray is one of the weakest things I’ve ever seen in my 35 years covering sports,” Greenberg said. on Thursday’s episode of Get Up. “What he did was practically unprecedented in NBA history and to pretend that it was ridiculous that he was even being asked about it two days later is pathetic. That’s what it is. It’s pathetic.
“This has nothing to do with playing a bad game. Great players have had bad games since the beginning of time. That happens. And if you get frustrated and you lose your cool, you get frustrated and lose your cool. And you know what you do afterwards? You say, ‘Hey, I was frustrated. I lost my cool. I shouldn’t have done that and I won’t do it again.’ And then everyone moves on.
“But when you behave that way, when you don’t talk about it afterwards and then the first time anyone has a chance to ask you about it, you react to it in that way, there’s nothing else that can be said except it is bordering on pathetic. Candidly, it’s words that I can’t use on television to respond to it… the things he didn’t say were much louder than the things he did.”
To paraphrase Shaq, I owe you an apology, Greeny. I wasn’t really familiar with your game.
For what it’s worth, Murray did take multiple questions about the heat pad throwing incident, which resulted in a $100,000 fine (but not a suspension).
“It is what it is. I take full responsibility and onto the next,” Murray replied to the first question.
After being asked a follow-up, the Nuggets guard reiterated his “onto the next” mindset. Following a second follow up, Murray replied, “Do you have any basketball questions? No?”
Jamal Murray's response to questions about the NBA's $100k fine was short, but here it is in its entirety: pic.twitter.com/nC2GSplaL7
— Nick Rothschild (@nick_rothschild) May 8, 2024
Was Murray’s response ideal? Obviously not, and it’s fair to wonder if it left the NBA wondering if its punishment was stiff enough. But contrary to Greenberg’s commentary, Murray did at least take responsibility for the incident, even if it might not have seemed totally sincere.
Still, Greenberg is entitled to his opinion, even if “pathetic” — or whatever words he was censoring himself from — might have been a bit strong. Nevertheless, it was fun to see the 56-year-old fired up in a way that’s typically reserved for the panelists on his set.
