Washington Wizards Assistant Coach Sidney Lowe Fined For Distracting New York Knicks
By Ben Mehic
Washington Wizards assistant coach Sidney Lowe was fined on Friday for stepping onto the court, distracting New York Knicks guard Courtney Lee.
On the court, there are 10 players competing, all of whom want their respective team to win the game that becomes meaningless when thinking about the world’s problems.
These players do whatever they can to make sure their team has more points than the other when the 48 minutes is up. They dive for loose balls, race up the court to block shots in transition and take charges against 7-footers.
But there are people behind the scenes who care just as much as those on the court.
Coaches spend hours – most of their days, even – game-planning for specific opponents. They rarely see their families, just so they can potentially have an advantage.
On Thursday night, Washington Wizards assistant coach Sidney Lowe stepped onto the court against the New York Knicks.
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Washington came out with a three-point victory in New York, securing a much-needed, elusive road victory.
The game was decided in the final seconds, as the Wizards managed to knock the ball out of Brandon Jennings‘ hands on the Knicks’ final possession.
The Knicks swung the ball around, looking to get a clean look from the perimeter with hopes of tying the game, but couldn’t get one off.
Lowe appeared to step on the court to distract Courtney Lee, who’s one of the Knicks’ only threats from deep.
After the game, both Lee and Carmelo Anthony complained about Lowe’s actions, noting that they’ve never seen an assistant coach act in that manner before.
Lowe, who’s considered one of the more enthusiastic coaches on the Washington Wizards’ staff, clearly stepped onto the court, as seen in the embedded video.
Here's the play Courtney Lee is referencing. Can clearly see the coach almost on the three point line yelling in his ear pic.twitter.com/K69ELycCWY
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) January 20, 2017
On Friday, the NBA announced that it has fined the Wizards $15,000 and Lowe $5,000.
As the season winds down and with All-Star break around the corner, the playoff seedings are quickly cementing themselves. Washington is currently fifth in the Eastern Conference while New York has dropped down to eleventh, outside of the playoff picture.
Every victory counts. Washington essentially broke the rules and paid an extra $15,000 for giving themselves more of a chance to beat the Knicks.
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It’s only cheating if you get caught. This time, the Wizards got caught and paid for it.