Warriors complete tremendous second-half comeback to beat Spurs 113-111 in Game 1
Leonard came down on Pachulia's foot after the big man attempted to contest a jumper by the Spurs forward . This is the point of view that many of the players are taking, including Leonard, who doesn't believe it was dirty.
Their argument is that Pachulia didn't do this on purpose, that he simply was making a hard closeout, and it unfortunately resulted in Leonard coming down on his foot. Pachulia had his head turned away from Leonard as he lands, and it would take impressive coordination to put his foot right in the exact spot where Leonard's foot was going to come down. In addition, Pachulia doing it on purpose would mean that he went in with the sinister intention of trying to injure an opponent.
On the other side of the coin, you have the argument that this is a dirty and dangerous play, that Pachulia knew exactly what he was doing, and shouldn't have done it. Yes, Pachulia isn't as athletic as some other guys in the league, but being in the NBA he still has elite body control. Did he know exactly where Leonard's foot was going to land? No, but he knew the general area, and second leg extension put his foot right in that area, making it a big possibility that Leonard could land on it.ย
At the very least it was reckless, and at worst, it was an intentional attempt to injure an opponent. When a similar play happened to Kobe Bryant back in 2013, he called it a "dangerous play."
So was it a dirty and dangerous play? Or do you agree with Leonard that it was just a hard play and unfortunate accident? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts.ย
As you can see, Pachulia contests Leonard's shot in the corner, and after his initial closeout, everything looks fine. He's under control, and his feet are underneath him, giving Leonard plenty of room to land after he takes the jumper.ย
Kawhi Leonard on Zaza Pachulia: "Did he step under it? Like on purpose? No, he was contesting the shot. The shot clock was coming down."
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