In wake of Kawhi Leonard reinjuring his left ankle due to landing on Zaza Pachulia‘s foot during the second half of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, it has created an immediate flooding of labeling the Golden State Warriors center a dirty player.
Leonard has quickly come out to state that he doesn't believe Pachulia purposely attempted to injure him on the play. Kevin Durant has also come to his teammate's defense voicing that the big man isn't a dirty player by any means.
“Zaza is not a dirty player. You've gotta time that perfectly if you want to hurt somebody. We're not that type of team,” Durant said following the Warriors' 113-111 victory to take a 1-0 series lead. “Kawhi is an unbelievable player. We've got nothing but respect for him. We wish that he gets healthy, but he (Pachulia) is just trying to contest a shot.”
The play in question occurred with 7:53 remaining in the third quarter after Leonard attempted a baseline jumper that Pachulia went to contest. He arrived just a half second too late shuffling his feet directly under the Spurs' star, who landed awkwardly on the veteran center' outstretched foot.
Leonard immediately fell to the ground in pain from the injury grabbing his left ankle and shortly thereafter rose to his feet with the help of his teammates. This resulted in the All-Star forward being sent to the locker room where he was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Following this point, the entire flow of the game changed with the Warriors becoming the first team to completely erase a 25-point deficit in the Western Conference Finals on their way to a critical victory.
There hasn't been any middle ground on this situation via social media with fans voicing their strong displeasure with Pachulia's actions on the play. However, there has yet to be the same sentiment shared publicly by the any of the Spurs players or coaching staff.
If Leonard is to miss any playing time because of the reinjury, there will certainly be more public outcry directed toward Pachulia. The only thing that remains certain at this point is that he will hear the constant showering of boos once the series shifts to the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
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