Zaza Pachulia says he isn’t a dirty player and felt bad for Kawhi Leonard after injuring him in Game 1, insisting it was completely unintentional.
Zaza Pachulia dodges Gregg Popovich’s accusation of being a dirty player
Pachulia completely denied that he injured Kawhi Leonard on purpose.
Leonard, who came into the game already dealing with an ankle injury, landed on Pachulia’s foot in the third quarter of Game 1 when Pachulia closed out on him during a jump shot. Leonard told the media he didn’t think the play was intentional, but Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich stepped up in his defense, calling Pachulia’s actions “dangerous” and “unsportsmanlike” in a long, angry rant. Here’s the play in question.
Pachulia spoke to reporters for several minutes about the play, denying that it was done purposefully or with any ill intent.
If you can’t watch those videos right now, here’s Pachulia’s most interesting answer transcribed, where he talked about the play and how he felt about it.
“Not really, it doesn’t bother me. I will say it for the last time, that I did whatever I had to do. That was the right defense for my side (the Warriors), to challenge the shot. I wish he hadn’t landed on my foot, and honestly, I had no idea that he landed on it. I turned back and he was on the ground. As soon as he released the ball, I turned around and tried to chase the rebound. Apparently, he landed on my foot when I was already turned. So I heard the whistle so I stopped running and waited, because I knew that I didn’t made contact with him, and kind of surprised by the whistle because it’s why I started running away. When I turned back he was holding his ankle, and I was trying to figure out what happened.
“I really feel bad for the guy. I wish it didn’t happen and had a different result, basically. But again, it’s a game, (you can only worry about) what you can control. I have a lot of respect for Kawhi. One of the best players in this league. (I) wish him all the best to get healthy, (get) back.”
Interim Warriors head coach Mike Brown also spoke about the play, with Brown brushing aside Popovich’s comments as a coach defending his players.
It’s possible to say that Pachulia’s play was reckless regardless of whether there was intent to hurt Leonard, which is what SB Nation’s Zito Madu argued on Monday. And whatever the truth is, we do know that this series won’t be nearly as interesting with Leonard.
