On Monday’s “First Take” episode there was a moment between Stephen A. Smith, and NBA analysts JJ Redick and Kendrick Perkins. Redick and Smith clowned Perkins after they claimed he was “moaning” into his microphone.
“Perk, is that you moaning in my ear over and over again?” Redick asked, while appearing to adjust his ear piece.
“Yeah I know, I was getting ready to ask that,” Smith chimed in. “You sound like you have sleep apnea, Perk. Are you alright?”
“Oh my God. Are you OK?” Redick asked. “It’s a gross noise man. It’s a gross noise.”
Was Perk “Moaning” Into Microphone?
Because ratings and going viral are the goals of the show, Perkins went back at Redick and Smith.
“Yeah that’s me,” Perkins said. “It’s not groaning, it’s me being disgusted.”
The trio were ostensibly debating the nuances of Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.
Smith called out Perkins for being “disrespectful.”
“You don’t have to sound like you got sleep apnea on live television,” Smith said again. “You can disguise it a little bit. I mean, that’s very disrespectful.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, sleep apnea is a disorder that causes you to stop breathing while asleep. Your brain tries to protect you by waking you up enough to breathe, but this prevents restful, healthy sleep. Over time this condition can cause serious complications.
Being overweight can be a factor in developing sleep apnea. Perkins is on the heavier side, maybe not quite overweight. But still, a large man who could potentially be suffering with the sleep disorder.
But that doesn’t appear to be the case. Perkins took it all in stride and went back at Smith.
“Hey look, I came on here already knowing… that the peanut gallery was going to be against big Perk anyway. I came on here ready for the smoke,” said Perkins. “So that’s fine. You and JJ can team up. … I’m sitting right here. I’m not going nowhere.”
That is a classic “First Take” bit. Nothing to see here, folks.
Perk Thinks Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone Needs To Be Held Accountable
As far as “analysis” of the game, Perkins did make an interesting point about Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone who not only called his team out publicly during an in-game interview, but also in his postgame press conference. He cited their lack of effort and intensity and being disappointed in their approach.
“Let’s talk about effort,” Malone said. “This is the NBA Finals. We are talking about effort. That’s a huge concern of mine. You guys probably thought I was just making up some storyline after Game 1 when I said we didn’t play well. We didn’t play well.
“Tonight, the starting lineup to start the game, it was 10-2 Miami. Start of the third quarter, they scored 11 points in [just over two minutes]. We had guys out there that were just, whether feeling sorry for themselves for not making shots or thinking they can just turn it on or off — this is not the preseason, this is not the regular season. This is the NBA Finals. That, to me, is really, really perplexing, disappointing.”
Perk said he understood the need to hold his team accountable, but asked who is holding Malone accountable for the team not being ready?
“Michael Malone is calling out his team, but who’s calling out Michael Malone?” asked Perkins
The Nuggets’ lack of effort in Game 2 was alarming. We will see how they respond in Game 3 on Wednesday.
