Agreed. By what we saw today I don't think it will be a sweep. It should be pretty comptetive. You can bet that it's gonna be more competitive than the Easter conference finals.
NBA 2016-17
- Thread starter ArmchairCritic
- Start date
Not like this is the first time. He pulled Kawhi's arm maliciously last season as well.
Won't be lying when I say I'm hoping for some karma in the rest of the series.
How is the play any different from LMA doing the same to Steph. Which I also believe to be accidental of course.
You are free to make your own decisions. I will refrain from wishing injury personally as two wrongs don't make a right.
Tbh, hopefully the Warriors all stay fit. Don't wanna give them another excuse like last season.
The moral high ground is funny though for someone who has no sympathy whatsoever for the opposition player's fitness.
Haha. I hear you. I enjoy watching them and I am a Bay Area resident. But, I do feel that when the warriors won in 2015, the Cavs were without Kyrie (which imo was a big loss for them).
I too would like full strength teams locking horns. Which is why I don't agree with all the reactions towards Kawhi's injury but I can see where people's frustrations are stemming from.
You don't agree to them because you care more for supporting the player who plays for your home team over another player's fitness. For anyone who isn't affiliated to the Dubs, the intention in that incident was clear as day, given Zaza's history. The fact that Kawhi was already injured and in pain before that is the reason people are outraged and rightly so. If the same happened to Curry or one of the other fairies up in Oakland we'd be having a justice march on the streets.
I guess we will have to agree to disagree. If we look at the clip as a solitary incident then the evidence simple isn't conclusive enough to be certain of the intention. It is a foul and a very unfortunate outcome.
As a matter of fact exactly similar incident did happen when LMA had his foot underneath Curry's as he was landing after taking his shot. I have posted boo the clips above. Funny you mention the same happening to Curry, he was fortunate to not roll his ankle.
It isn't just the fact that he had his foot that far out, but the fact that he took an extra step deliberately after he had established balance. Kawhi was taking a 2 point shot and Zaza's foot was outside the arc, ffs.
Look at the Aldridge clip above. Look at the extra step taken there even though Curry has released the ball for his shot. Both scenarios aren't really that different. I don't think Curry even got a foul in that scenario.
He rolled his ankle because Zaza stepped under him. Let's not pretend like he just landed badly on the floor and Pachulia stepping under him did not happen.
It is not clear at all.
You could see the Warriors come back a mile away as soon as Kawhi went off. Aside from Man Utd the Spurs have very little on offense without Kawhi. It was getting painful at one point in the third.
I must say though, I really want the Spurs to win this series. There is something about the Warriors I cannot get away with. Not sure whether it's because I dislike Green, Think Curry is a little twerp or what.
I must say though, I really want the Spurs to win this series. There is something about the Warriors I cannot get away with. Not sure whether it's because I dislike Green, Think Curry is a little twerp or what.
To all the 'it was deliberate crowd'.
1) How that was different to Aldridge on Curry? Was that also deliberate?
2) Did Zaza deliberately sidelined Durant for a couple of months?
To me, it is quite clear that Zaza didn't deliberately injure Kawhi. More a case of an awkward player who doesn't have good control over his body. I have played with these types of big lumps who injure other players without having intention on doing so.
1) How that was different to Aldridge on Curry? Was that also deliberate?
2) Did Zaza deliberately sidelined Durant for a couple of months?
To me, it is quite clear that Zaza didn't deliberately injure Kawhi. More a case of an awkward player who doesn't have good control over his body. I have played with these types of big lumps who injure other players without having intention on doing so.
With Parker out as well, they lost the ability to run the offense completely. Man Utd can only do so much.
The hatred for the Warriors all over the internet is so funny. I mean people are talking about Grant fecking hill missing a few games as Warriors being lucky
The hatred for the Warriors all over the internet is so funny. I mean people are talking about Grant fecking hill missing a few games as Warriors being lucky
Grant Hill has been long retired. It was George Hill and although they were still beating Utah regardless, it cannot be denied that they get to play depleted teams.
That's not even a remotely similar play. Look at where Steph takes off to take the jumpshot and where LA's foot lands. There's clearly space for Steph to land. It's not in Kawhi's nature to create beef like that even if he did feel it was deliberate and I'm sure if he knows that if he did, Warrior nation would say he's making excuses. JVG during the broadcast said it was a dirty play.
There wouldn't be half this many people complaining in here if it wasn't Leonard that got injured or if the Spurs didn't feck up their gigantic lead in less than two quarters. What happened to giving people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise?
It's playoff basketball, I'm not saying you should deliberately injure a player but the intensity is higher and every shot should be contested. Also feck that "it's not in his nature to create beef". If he thinks it was intentional, he should call Zaza out for it and get his teammates fired up for revenge. I've got no preference between the Warriors or Spurs to win this series but some of the reactions on here are way exaggerated.
It's playoff basketball, I'm not saying you should deliberately injure a player but the intensity is higher and every shot should be contested. Also feck that "it's not in his nature to create beef". If he thinks it was intentional, he should call Zaza out for it and get his teammates fired up for revenge. I've got no preference between the Warriors or Spurs to win this series but some of the reactions on here are way exaggerated.
Just for disclosure, I'm a Knicks fan and don't care who wins this series either way, just enjoying basketball at this point. But a dirty play is a dirty play. Bruce Bowen over the years, perfected the art of doing this, so maybe it's karma coming back to hurt the Spurs.
How do you even prove this? Unless Zaza says he did it on purpose to hurt Kawhi, one can only speculate and have an opinion about the incident. I think he did it on purpose, and i think it was a dirty play. I can't prove it, neither can the people thinking it was an accident.
For the record, I really don't care about who wins this series, I just want to watch great basketball. No hatred towards Zaza or the Warriors.
He deliberately made another step in the same direction to make sure his foot lands as close to where Leonard will land as possible. Him landing on the exact spot was unlucky on Leonard's part and lucky for Pachulia.
Did he though? There's no way to know.
Watch his movement here,he makes another step towards leonard after the shot had been released.
How can anyone look at his motion there and argue it wasnt intentional is beyond me.
He did. If Leonard landed on him after first step, fine, it's an accident. But second step kind of gives it away.
He clearly was looking for some kind of contact. He probably didn't think, 'I'll put my foot here and Kawhi will roll his ankle.' But he definitely made a second movement in that direction to try and put some kind of physical contact on him. The whole innocent until proven guilty thing is fair, but Zaza has a history of playing right on the line and crossing it at times.
Bowen was such a dirty feck.
See how Bowen turns away in all those clips? It's part of the art. The league should suspend people for this kind of nonsense.
1. Curry was jumping forward during his shooting motion while Leonard was jumping straight and Zaza undercut him.
2. No he obviously didn't, what kind of question is that? Zaza flopped and fell backwards into Durant unknowing that he was standing behind him.
I would never claim to be 100% sure that something was intentional as long as the player doesn't admit it, so I'm always quite torn on those issues. But there are certain players (Delly, Bogut, Olynk etc) where repetitiveness of their apparently 'unintentional' moves becomes suspicious and Zaza is among them.
The hatred for the Warriors all over the internet is so funny. I mean people are talking about Grant fecking hill missing a few games as Warriors being lucky
Yeah that's definitely amusing. It's overall annoying how quickly injured players get used in an argument of discrediting a team.
Initially when I saw the Kawhi/Zaza incident I was suspicious about why Zaza should take that extra step, because he did and there's no denying that. However, on listening to his explanation that once the shot had been taken he turned and prepared for a possible rebound in case the shot missed the extra step makes more sense in that you have to form some sort of steady base to get ready to make a jump to attempt to rebound the ball. All that being said, either way it was somewhat thoughtless on Zaza's part to take said step in that it ended up in Kawhi's landing area. Do I think it was deliberate? I have no idea. Do I think it was thoughtless? Absolutely.
As to the game itself, there was really no excuse for the Spurs losing this no matter Kawhi's travails. This is a team that under the same circumstances without Kawhi had just blown out the Rockets by 39 on the road. Let me repeat that, they had just blown out the Rockets by 39 on the road. So for all those folks saying that the Spurs only lost the game because Kawhi got hurt, while having a semblance of truth, the bottom line is they flat out choked. This is a word that has been thrown at the Warriors right and left this past 12 months and as a Dubs fan you can recognize it when you see it. The Cavs only won last year because of the Dubs injuries of that there is no doubt, but the Dubs also choked when the pressure was on. Ditto, these San Antonio Spurs!
As to the game itself, there was really no excuse for the Spurs losing this no matter Kawhi's travails. This is a team that under the same circumstances without Kawhi had just blown out the Rockets by 39 on the road. Let me repeat that, they had just blown out the Rockets by 39 on the road. So for all those folks saying that the Spurs only lost the game because Kawhi got hurt, while having a semblance of truth, the bottom line is they flat out choked. This is a word that has been thrown at the Warriors right and left this past 12 months and as a Dubs fan you can recognize it when you see it. The Cavs only won last year because of the Dubs injuries of that there is no doubt, but the Dubs also choked when the pressure was on. Ditto, these San Antonio Spurs!
The amount of people who despise the warriors is actually making me like them more.
I'm sad about Leonard, he's my favourite player, but i'm not convinced Zaza was intentionally trying to be dirty.
Besides, the Spurs really shouldn't have fell apart the way they did, apart from Curry & Durant, the Warriors didn't play particularly well. Thompson especially was poor offensively I thought.
I'm sad about Leonard, he's my favourite player, but i'm not convinced Zaza was intentionally trying to be dirty.
Besides, the Spurs really shouldn't have fell apart the way they did, apart from Curry & Durant, the Warriors didn't play particularly well. Thompson especially was poor offensively I thought.
It is crazy really, imagine if Warriors had thrown a 23 point lead away after a Durant/Curry injury
The amount of people who despise the warriors is actually making me like them more.
I'm sad about Leonard, he's my favourite player, but i'm not convinced Zaza was intentionally trying to be dirty.
Besides, the Spurs really shouldn't have fell apart the way they did, apart from Curry & Durant, the Warriors didn't play particularly well. Thompson especially was poor offensively I thought.
Really one of the worst games I saw from him.
Regarding Zaza and Kawhi problem, we'll never know for sure if it's intentional or not. It'll remain as an arguable situation and everyone will interpret it from his perspective.
Anyways, big game 7 tonight in Boston, hopefully, it's great game. Just can't the Wizards winning this one on the road.
This series has been about the home team always winning, I think Celtics will finish it.
Pop is angry.
Fair for him. He made a perfect plan for the game and everything was going his way as he planned till this moment. He sure feels his work has been thrown out of the window due to a single moment.
I love Pop, I do, but he enabled Bruce Bowen for years.