The NBA Play-In Tournament between the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors started out like a fever dream of exciting basketball, but the plot took a dark turn when Ja Morant, Memphis’ point guard, came crashing down in a heap of pain after an awkward landing. Late in the third quarter, Memphis was pushing for a comeback after being dominated in the majority of the first half. With 4:25 to go, Morant drove to the basket and rose for a contested baseline shot.

Two Warriors players were closing in on him at that point. After making the shot, while coming down, Morant landed on Warriors’ guard Buddy Hield’s left foot and seemed to twist his right ankle. He limped to the bench after lying on the floor for a while, groaning in pain, and holding his ankle.

The basketball world collectively held its breath as Morant limped to the free-throw line, knocked down his shot, and cut the deficit to 82-81 from a 20-point lead at one point, before hobbling off the court. While this was unfolding on the court, Reggie Miller’s comments on TNT’s broadcast about the injury started a full-fledged controversy.

Miller said on air, “Looks like Ja tweaked his ankle on his own.” Evidently, he missed Buddy Hield’s foot coming on the way. And the online community was not letting that go. But here is a point.

It might have happened that Reggie missed that because of the angle of broadcast. Anyone who has watched the game live might argue that the first angle didn’t show Buddy’s part clearly, and it did look like Morant had twisted his ankle on his own. But later, the replays from different angles showed that Morant and Buddy actually got their feet tangled. So was it really foul play from Buddy? Let’s try to dig in a bit.

After the incident, while Morant was being checked on the bench, the officials reviewed the play for a potential flagrant foul on Buddy. But eventually, they concluded that Buddy’s actions were not hostile to that extent. To be precise, the replay shows Buddy was looking up toward the basket while Morant was taking the shot, and his foot was in the same place when Morant left the ground for the shot, and when he came down after making it. But, unfortunately, because of the change in Morant’s angle while making the shot, he landed on that left foot of Buddy. Looking at the replay, it seemed to be a freak accident, maybe that is why Buddy was not slapped with a flagrant foul.

But well, to understand the entire saga, one needs to carefully look at the replays. By the time the narrative became somewhat clear, the fans quickly jumped on social media to voice their displeasure over Reggie’s commentary.

Ja Morant’s fans rip Reggie Miller apart

“Reggie Miller is awful man GET HIM OFF MY TV!” Notably, this is not the first time Reggie has drawn heat from the fans. His commentary during the 2023 NBA Finals made fans say that he was rooting harder for the Warriors than some actual Warriors fans. The latest incident is just another reason for the fans to be furious at him.

“Nothing screams playoff basketball more than Reggie Miller speculating about an injury and how it occurred and managing to be wrong every single time.” Remember when Reggie misjudged Allen Iverson’s back injury in 2009, calling it “illegitimate,” and it turned out to be just real? Yeah, that doesn’t inspire confidence, does it?

“Reggie Miller is and has been the worst analyst in the game for a long time.” Well,  although we can maybe give Reggie benefit of doubt on this occasion, studies have shown that fans aren’t exactly fond of Reggie’s style. A survey by The Ringer in 2021 showed him low on the list of NBA analysts – who knew? His personal anecdotes and loud reactions can be fun in small doses, but when you want serious basketball analysis, Reggie’s over-the-top antics aren’t quite hitting the mark.

“Media (Reggie Miller) convincing us that Buddy walking in under Ja’s feet was a normal thing to do. Fuggouttahere man.” In the NBA, stepping under a player as they’re coming down from a shot is a big no-no. It’s actually a foul, specifically under the “Landing Area Protection” rule, meant to prevent injuries. But on this occasion, there seems to be a probability that Buddy did step under Morant intentionally. The debate will probably go on. But the incident is a succinct reminder that when it comes to live action, everyone is under equal pressure to deliver- the players and the commentators both are on the same boat on this.