They used to get away with it. Over the past two seasons, the Golden State Warriors made a name for themselves with last-second screens that pushed the boundaries of legality. The evolution of those screens, however, is just flat-out criminal.
Warriors have graduated from illegal screens to straight up shoving people
This is getting out of control.
In the second quarter of the Warriors’ Game 1 Western Conference Finals matchup with the San Antonio Spurs, Zaza Pachulia straight up shoved Patty Mills as he attempted to close out on an open Stephen Curry three-pointer. The referees didn’t call the foul as Mills went flying out of the picture, and Curry drained the open shot without a hand in his face.
Just look at the Spurs’ bench for confirmation.
We’ve analyzed the Warriors’ screens before. They’re not any more illegal than any other team. But flat-out pushing a player out of the picture can’t happen. Pachulia looked very guilty nudging Mills out of Curry’s way.
And that was only Pachulia’s second-most consequential reckless play of the game. He also slid under Kawhi Leonard to re-injure Leonard’s ankle.
Spurs fans will be mad, and rightfully so.
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