Emotions have been running high during the current NBA Playoff series between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. And not just on the court.
Before pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night when the Warriors took a 3-2 series lead while also losing Kevin Durant to a scary-looking (but ultimately not as scary as it could have been) injury, there was some chippiness happening on Twitter between the teams’ media members.
It seemed to start when Bay Area News Group sports columnist Dieter Kurtenbach tweeted a fairly benign and common joke that if the NBA wants to ensure good ratings for playoffs ahead, they’ll make sure the Warriors beat the Rockets.
https://twitter.com/dkurtenbach/status/1126043895375155201
Jokes about the NBA fixing the outcome of games to ensure good ratings are standard operation procedure (and there’s at least some merit to the claim). Besides, it’s just the kind of red meat troll tweet you hand out to the fans of the team you cover when you want to provide a little color in your feed.
Houston Rockets TV and radio play-by-play voice Craig Ackerman did not see it that way. Or, he saw the tweet as the latest in a long line of perceived slights on behalf of the NBA’s current dynasty towards the rest of the league.
This line of thinking is common place in the Bay Area. I've never seen a collective group of media members anywhere else in the NBA who present a more elitist, entitled vibe that they somehow own a piece of what the Warriors organization has built over the past 5 years. https://t.co/56igp9CD2R
— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) May 8, 2019
Ackerman’s jab did not go unnoticed and fellow members of that Bay Area “collective” responded.
Pretty awkward when a media member attacks other media members when he clearly misunderstood a joke that didn’t involve him, and ended up sounding weirdly protective of the team he covers as if he owns some piece of it…🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/JseaW3ARdP
— Grant Liffmann (@GrantLiffmann) May 8, 2019
Grant…I've worked for the Rockets for 25 years beginning as an intern when I was 20. Which means I've spent more than 50% of my life working for the team. I'm not a neutral media member, nor do I pretend to be one.
I meant every word of my tweet whether he was kidding or not. https://t.co/4Lxy3Pvn1c
— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) May 8, 2019
As long as you admit to not being neutral, then that is totally fair to be protective over your team… but to insult all Bay Area media doesn’t seem like a very professional approach for someone that has been in a great organization like the Rockets for so many years https://t.co/uGk9atgjPS
— Grant Liffmann (@GrantLiffmann) May 8, 2019
Ackerman’s response kinda undercuts his argument here. The initial punch was over the perception that Bay Area media members are biased and feel as though they’re a part of the Warriors franchise. When called out, Ackerman’s defense is to say that he is allowed to call them out because…he is biased and feels as though he is a part of the Rockets franchise. So…what’s the problem then?
lol I could care less whoever wins an NBA game. Was that way when I covered the Lakers. Is that way covering the Warriors. All I care about is making deadline, finding/writing good stories and waking up on time for the AM flight. And I'm from PA, not the Bay Area https://t.co/FIVNi9kAGQ
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) May 8, 2019
Thanks for weighing in Mark. You 'knocked me out cold!' lol https://t.co/e69jTwNdgO
— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) May 8, 2019
After that exchange, it looks like cooler heads prevailed and everyone went their merry way to prepare for the impending game. The Warriors did win (with or without NBA collusion) and remain in the driver’s seat to return to their fifth-consecutive NBA Finals (Durant-willing). They’ll try to put away the Rockets in Game 6 on Friday. Expect it to be a hard-fought battle by both sides, and that includes the people who are paid to report on it.
