A foul mood
Popovich rips Pachulia for his ‘dangerous’ play
One game into the Western Conference finals between the Warriors and Spurs, we have a juicy subplot featuring an injured star, an irate coach, a bewildered villain and an uncomfortable teammate.
So much for the boring NBA playoffs.
San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich ratcheted up the volume Monday, accusing Warriors center Zaza Pachulia of an “unsportsmanlike” play Sunday in Game 1. The incident knocked All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard out of the game and aggravated an ankle injury that will keep him out of Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Leonard re-injured his sprained ankle in the third quarter, when Pachulia contested his jump shot in front of San Antonio’s bench. Pachulia, who was called for a foul on the play, drew Popovich’s ire for not giving Leonard space to land as he came down. Leonard landed on Pachulia’s foot.
“A two-step, lead-with-yourfoot closeout is not appropriate,” Popovich said during his team’s media availability at a downtown San Francisco hotel. “It’s dangerous, it’s unsportsmanlike, it’s just not what anybody does to anybody else. And this particular individual has a history with that kind of action.”
Popovich soon added, “This is crap. And because he’s got this history, it can’t just be, ‘Oh, it was inadvertent. He didn’t have intent.’ Who gives a damn what his intent was? … All I care about is what happened, and the history there exacerbates the whole situation and makes me very, very angry.”
Those inflammatory words quickly made their way across the bay, to Golden State’s practice facility in downtown Oakland. Moments after the Warriors completed their workout, Pachulia plopped into a director’s chair and faced a media throng.
That’s usually the province of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, who combined for 74 points in Sunday’s comeback victory. This time, Pachulia found himself in the chair — and squarely in the crosshairs of the NBA’s winningest active head coach.
“I’m not a dirty player,” Pachulia said. “I just love this game, and I play hard.”
Asked if he was bothered by Popovich’s accusation, Pachulia replied, “It doesn’t bother me. That was the right defense from my side to challenge the shot. I wish (Leonard) hadn’t landed on my foot. … I really feel bad for the guy, but it’s a game and there are some things you can’t control.”
Popovich enlivened the debate by including the reference to Pachulia’s history. Two of the incidents he mentioned occurred in February 2016, during a game between the Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, for whom Pachulia then played.
On one play, he and Leonard went to the floor pursuing a loose ball and Pachulia sort of pinned Leonard’s arm. In the same game, Pachulia and then-Spurs forward David West — now a teammate with the Warriors — got into a heated confrontation, with Pachulia swinging an elbow and West jawing at him.
Popovich achieved his objective in at least one sense: He put West in an awkward spot Monday, forced to defend a teammate with whom he had publicly feuded only 15 months earlier.
“Zaza’s my teammate,” he said. “He plays hard. We’re just trying to win.”
As for last year’s tussle, West said, “Just playing hard, man. He’s an aggressive guy. That’s who he is. That’s who he’s always been.”
Pachulia also got into a tiff with Thunder guard Russell Westbrook this season, after knocking him to the court with a hard foul Jan. 18. Pachulia said the play was payback for an earlier elbow from Westbrook, who after the game vowed to “get his ass back.”
Warriors acting head coach Mike Brown made a point of comparing this latest Pachulia/Leonard incident to another play in Sunday’s game, later in the third quarter. Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge challenged Curry’s outside shot and, according to Brown, slid underneath him much as Pachulia did to Leonard.
Curry fell to the court and avoided landing on Aldridge’s foot. The officials told Brown that’s why Aldridge was not called for a foul.
This furor serves as the backdrop for Tuesday night’s Game 2 at Oracle Arena, as the Spurs seek to even the series. They face a sizable challenge, after blowing a 25-point lead in Game 1 and losing their best player to injury.
“You take an MVP candidate off the team, that’s tough,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said.
“I wish (Leonard) hadn’t landed on my foot. … I really feel bad for the guy, but it’s a game and there are some things you can’t control.” Zaza Pachulia