This video brings about the question "When is a player having fun or showing bad sportsmanship?"
You can break that question down into the much easier to analyze question of, "Is it okay for a player to have fun?"
That may seem completely insane at first, but if we think about it for a minute, it's not really all that far off from the way we judge how players act.
Is this act by Paul Pierce acceptable? The announcers clearly think it is okay and that Pierce is just having a good time. If you don't remember the play, or never saw it to begin with, you can see the score of the game, time of the game, and who is in the lead in the series to help make your decision.
I know this writeup is full of questions, but would Pierce have done the same thing if the series was 2-0 Magic, and the Magic had this big of a lead? Would he have done it if this game was tied and the series was tied?
By that token it can be viewed as an unsportsmanlike act. It's like when I am out taking Brandon to school in basketball, and I start throwing down windmill dunks instead of my original two handed slam. It's unacceptable for me to be having that much fun while he trembles at my greatness.
Anyways.. I don't think it really matters what a player does. They will get viewed in a negative light one way or another. They are supposed to: Have fun.. But DON'T DO IT WHILE IN THE LEAD!! How much sense does that make?
I don't know where the line is. What I do know is if you are a Celtics fan you think this is funny, if you are a Magic fan you think this is unsportsmanlike. I guess that is all a part of the fun of sports.
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