Kiwi Complaining About Stop-Start NBA Forgets About Rugby’s Endless Scrum Resets

man holding head frustrated. Lebron James and All Blacks packing scrum in background.

ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Sport

GET ON WITH IT

Lachie Clarke was growing impatient with today’s NBA basketball game between the LA Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies.

“Why do they keep stopping the game? It’s ruining the flow!” Clarke bellowed at the TV as the Lakers coach opted to use up one of his many timeouts.

The match, which is meant to have a duration of just 48 minutes, frustrated Clarke, who was now watching the game well into its second hour, with no obvious end in sight.

“Oh come on! What do they need another timeout for? They literally just came back onto the court for four seconds,” Clarke grumbled, as players again headed into a team huddle, barely breaking back into a sweat.

However the 28 year-old didn’t seem to have the same frustration while watching rugby, a game where there are often endless resets of scrums. Although not nearly as painful as NBA timeouts, a scrum reset effectively pauses everything, forces players to stop, fart around for a bit, and then start again.

Clarke’s friend Matt then pointed out the irony of his complaining.

“I don’t know why he’s so up in arms about the stop-start nature of the NBA. Every time there’s a minor infringement in rugby, the game comes to a grinding halt, and the players often look like they have no idea what’s going on.”

As our reporters went to put this to Lachie, he was overheard again yelling at the TV.

“Oh not again! Every time there’s a foul, they just take forever to sort it out! Just get on with it!”

More to come 

Want to support the Whakataki Times? Head over to the support page and make a contribution. You can also follow us on Insta.

Enjoying the Whakataki Times and want to say thanks? Now you can! Use the form below to make a financial contribution to the team’s operating costs. 

How much do you reckon?

Up to you how much
$