Kawhi Leonard doesn’t think Zaza Pachulia tried to injure him

To most eyes, Zaza Pachulia committed a dirty play on Kawhi Leonard. Leonard does not agree, at least publicly.

The momentum of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals totally shifted midway through the third quarter on Sunday, when Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard aggravated his left ankle injury and did not finish the game. A 23-point lead turned into a two-point loss for San Antonio, as the Golden State Warriors took advantage of Leonard’s absence and defended home court.

Warriors’ center Zaza Pachulia moved out to challenge Leonard’s corner jump shot on the offending play, and appeared to take an extra step into where Leonard would land. The line between finishing the play and being dirty was at least straddled by Pachulia, no doubt about it.

Pachulia has essentially said there’s no way he intentionally tried to injure Leonard, which is to be expected. The Spurs always play things close to the vest publicly, with head coach Gregg Popovich setting that tone, and Leonard himself is notably low-key. So it’s not too shocking, all things considered, he is not ready to say Pachulia made a dirty play on Sunday.

Via Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News.

"Did he step under it? Like on purpose? No, he was contesting the shot, the shot clock was coming down. I’ll have to see the play.”"

Leonard is not going to call out Pachulia publicly, even if deep down he might want to. Saying he would have to “see the play” immediately after the game suggests an off-the-cuff dismissal of any intent to injure. Leonard’s absence could be pointed to as an excuse for losing a big lead, and the Spurs don’t deal in excuses. Even momentum changing excuses like an in-game injury to their best player.

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Leonard would have to be on a different team to ever say anything provocative to the media. His measured words about Pachulia fit that mode, even if the smell test says his true feelings are deeper.