NBA players think Zaza intentionally fell on Russell Westbrook’s leg
By Dave Daniels
The only friends Zaza Pachulia has left in the NBA may reside in his own locker room.
The Oklahoma City Thunder faced off against the Golden State Warriors Saturday night in what could be a preview of a Western Conference playoff series. There was not much intrigue in the score of the game, because the Warriors pulled away in the second half to win 112-80.
However, Zaza Pachulia raised some eyebrows when he seemed to fall right after glancing at where Russell Westbrook’s leg was on the ground. You can check out the play in question below.
Westbrook confirmed that he thinks Zaza is a dirty player after the game and said, “Obviously it was intentional. He fell over my leg. He tried to hurt me.” Russell also chided the reporter for asking a dumb question:
Other NBA stars came to Westbrook’s defense quite quickly. Damian Lillard stood up for his fellow point guard on Twitter and made it clear what he thinks about Pachulia’s dive:
BS play smh https://t.co/AqmCjfemWQ
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) February 25, 2018
Kyrie Irving also shared his opinion on social media, writing, “The league has to take a look at this man, this s**t is ridiculous.”
Whether or not the NBA will become involved or not remains to be seen, but there is certainly history here. Pachulia appeared to undercut Kawhi Leonard’s feet on a three-pointer in the playoffs last season which removed any intrigue in that series between the San Antonio Spurs and Warriors.
The league should definitely take some kind of action, but it probably won’t stop Pachulia from playing this way. It’s pretty hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and it’s not like he will suddenly become a sharpshooter from three-point range. This is in his bag of tools, and it is how he tries to help his team win.
Does it make him a tool? Each player and fan can decide for themselves.
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But the next time the Warriors and Thunder meet, it wouldn’t be surprising for there to be a little retaliation.