JJ Redick Gives NBA HORSE Tourney a 'Hard Pass'

When word got out that the NBA and ESPN were collaborating on a 'high-profile' game of HORSE, there wasn't as much excitement as you'd expect. Nobody trashed the idea, but the general consensus typically responded with "well, at least it's something."

The same went for the NBA's players-only NBA 2K20 tournament as well. As the NBA remains suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, basketball fans are more than willing to tune in to anything that's sports-related, whether it be replays of classic games, players facing off in 2K, or documentaries.

On Sunday night, the big event fans were tuning in for was the game of HORSE. Personally, I didn't expect basketball fans to rave about the event -- but I also didn't expect a game of HORSE to get such bad reviews either.

Former Philadelphia 76ers sharpshooter JJ Redick had the same thought process of thousands of fans on Sunday night. While the 35-year-old veteran isn't one to typically take his thoughts to social media -- specifically Twitter -- the New Orleans Pelicans guard couldn't help himself on Sunday.

H-O-R-S-E could not be worse. I gave it 5 min. Hard pass.
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) April 12, 2020

After just five minutes, Redick was out on the highly-anticipated driveway competition. Honestly, it's hard to blame him. The idea had potential, but the execution was far from superb. It's understandable not every current and former NBA/WNBA player has a camera expert on deck to help them execute shots for the broadcast.

But a simple trial run beforehand should've sent ESPN and the NBA back to the drawing boards before deciding to air what ended up becoming the talk of Twitter on Sunday night for all of the wrong reasons. Unless there are significant changes for Thursday's broadcast, the highly-anticipated, high-profile game of HORSE could very well end up being a major flop.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_