NBA Playoffs 2019: Winners and Losers from April 13th

Loser: Cell-Phone-Gate

In the fourth quarter of Brooklyn’s win over Philadelphia, Sixer forward Amir Johnson was caught scrolling through text messages with on his iPhone next to Joel Embiid. In the moment, the whole scene was bizarre. In all my years of watching basketball (at any level), I cannot remember a player pulling out a cell phone to text people.

The sight prompted quite the accusatory rant from announcers Dave Pasch and Dorris Burke, which chronicled how off the mindset of the whole Philadelphia team felt, which seemed deserved at the time. A few minutes later, Johnson was pulled from the bench and escorted to the 76ers locker room, a result of his phone usage while on the bench; which violates some obscure League rule.

The ordeal was, of course, a major talking point on NBA Twitter, where the poor Sixers were absolutely ABUSED. I say poor because of the explanation that followed regarding Johnson’s circumstance. After the game, when asked about the issue, Philly players responded that Amir Johnson was checking on his daughter, who was “extremely sick” according to Joel Embiid.

Once the facts got out, Johnson’s name was cleared by the masses, but not before a river of hate flowed into his inbox from Sixer fans. All in all, everyone lost in this event, and it only added to the Sixers’ (and their fans’) miserable day.