Zaza Pachulia drops heavy accusations against Gregg Popovich
NBA News: When Zaza Pachulia hopped below the feet of Kawhi Leonard while Leonard was shooting in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, some people thought his intentions were to injure San Antonio’s star forward.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s comments after the game added fuel to an already raging fire.
Pachulia, on the other hand, has been left with the carnage eating away at his reputation. Many now believe the 33-year-old center is a dirty player. Pachulia and his family have even received death threats.
While Pachulia believes he could deal with the backlash had it been directed at just him, he blames Popovich for making the situation an even bigger deal than it already was.
“I don’t blame everything on Pop, but what he said had a lot of influence (and) you had a lot of people where, unfortunately, you can’t control what everybody’s intelligence is,” Pachulia, who has an eight-year-old son, a seven-year-old son, and a four-year-old daughter with his wife, said Sunday via USA TODAY Sports. “(Fans) just hear the message, and it’s, ‘Ok, Pop said so and now let’s do this.’ It’s just wrong. You’ve got to think, and realize. Threaten me, but don’t threaten my wife or say something about my kids. It’s just wrong.
“Me as a person, as a man, I don’t mind dealing with it. But I hate to see my family deal with it. My wife and my kids who have nothing to do with it, who are very innocent. … I just hate my family going through that. They don’t deserve that. … I’m not blaming everything on (Popovich), but he was a very big part of it.”
San Antonio led by as much as 25 points in Game 1 before Pachulia’s foul took Leonard out of the game. Fans thought the play was dirty because Pachulia took an extra step to get under Leonard, who came down on Pachulia’s foot to further injure his gimpy ankle.
Popovich clearly believed the play was dirty, even comparing the foul to manslaughter. That sort of exaggeration is what has Pachulia so upset.
“I have a lot of respect for him (Popovich),” Pachulia said. “In today’s basketball world, he’s a very, very respected person. So when Pop says something like that, calling me out … it’s understanding that (your words) will have an effect.
“I’m going to do defend my team, but I’m not going to send a message saying this guy killed (a player), is a murderer or whatever, manslaughter, because people take it differently. We live in a society where not everybody has intelligence, or understanding or is thinking of what’s right and what’s wrong. We’re going to move on.
“Hopefully (the fans) can let it go. But you know, I’m sure that a year later, 10 years later, (his family is) still going to remember this moment – and not in a good way. It’s something where your heart breaks, and even though life goes on you still feel it in a bad way. I think that’s going to be the case.”
The Spurs are just one loss away from playoff elimination, while the Warriors have their sights set on reclaiming their NBA throne.
Category: Basketball
