In this past season’s NBA Playoffs, Spurs’ star Kawhi Leonard was killing the Warriors, giving fans hope that Coach Pop and company would take down the record setting Warriors. But in one moment, these hopes were crushed as Kawhi sat on the floor in front of his team’s bench, grabbing his ankle in obvious pain. Replays showed that the Warriors’ Zaza Pachulia had stepped back into Leonard as he rose for his jump shot, after which Kawhi landed on his foot, twisting his ankle and eliminating the Spurs’ chances of beating Golden State.
Zaza Pachulia intentionally targets & injures Kawhi Leonard ankle injury warriors dirty wcf
kawhi leonard ankle injury zaza pachulia injures spurs warriors game 1 full highlights draymond green dirty plays compilation postgame interview today tonight 5.14.17 kd dunk dunks on kevin durant out suspended dahntay jones kobe bryant western conference finals 2017
Fans went crazy, and rightfully so, as an NBA star was taken out by a role player in what many deemed to be a dirty play.
Moving south to Houston, opposing fans tired of seeing Rockets’ star James Harden flail his arms after shooting, begging for a whistle to be called because his actions must have meant that he had been fouled. The complained about him hooking the arms of defenders and then throwing up his arms to draw attention to the foul that he actually just created.
How To Draw Fouls Like James Harden
James Harden’s ability to draw fouls is a skill. He scores over a third of his points at the free throw line, and has set a number of records at the line. Any player can develop this skill, though, just like any other! Check out how above.
Well the NBA is blowing the whistle on both of these players and their actions, instituting rules against “reckless” closeouts and “shooters creating contact to draw” free throws. Howard Beck explains below:
Its 100 percent for the safety of the players, said NBA senior vice president of replay and referee operations Joe Borgia.
We saw it as a major trend in the NBA so we had to almost back up and say, `Well, wait a minute, this is going to be a trend, so lets catch up to it, NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell said.
Let’s see how the players adapt to the rules this season, but you already know Spurs will be moaning and groaning that it’s a season too late.
