I’m extremely reluctant to accuse anyone of faking an injury, but…
1. It’s JaVale McGee, who has a history of antics.
2. There’s no obvious cause of an injury.
3. McGee recovered incredibly quickly.
If he weren’t actually hurt, this was an illegal play by McGee. Healthy offensive players can’t run off the court like that. The penalty is loss of ball, but I don’t envy officials who had to determine whether the injury was real.
It’s also inconclusive whether McGee established himself in-bounds before catching the pass it. It’s close.
Another debatable point if McGee did this deliberately: Did he waste a clever play in the preseason? Even a sharp defender, Draymond Green, understandably lost track of McGee once McGee limped off. Or was the preseason the only time to have fun like this?
What is clear: The Lakers had another nifty play in their exhibition win over the Warriors last night. LeBron James switched hands mid-air to throw a kickout pass to a wide-open Danny Green:
