The Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors series just got a whole lot more interesting.
As if this matchup wasn’t competitive enough, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson added some fuel to the fire by asserting that Denver sent “hit men” at sharp-shooter Stephen Curry (via Royce Young of CBSSports.com):
They were the more physical team, the aggressor. They hurt us in the first half scoring the basketball in the paint, made us pay for our turnovers. They tried to send hit men on Steph Curry.
…
There was some dirty plays. it’s playoff basketball. That’s all right. We all do. Make no mistake about it we went up 3-1 playing hard, physical basketball. Not trying to hurt anybody.
I’m not going to get into specifics. You can take a look at the game. The screen on Curry by the foul line on a shot at his ankle clearly. That can’t be debated. I’ve got inside information that some people don’t like that brand of basketball. And they clearly didn’t co-sign it. So they wanted to let me know that they had no part in what was taking place. Let the best team win, and with the exception of going down with a freak injury, let everybody leave out of here healthy. That’s not good basketball.
Yes, the Nuggets should take offense that. And they did.
“They play dirty every night,” Denver’s Kenneth Faried said (via Young). “They have targeted me.”
Nuggets coach George Karl decided to get in on the fun as well, questioning whether Golden State’s Draymond Green thought he was playing football.
Denver coach George Karl kicked off the postgame mudslinging by asking, “Did Draymond Green play football or basketball at Michigan State?”
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) May 1, 2013
Green eventually responded to Karl on Twitter.
I guess this answers that huh??? HA FOOTBALL twitter.com/Money23Green/s…
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) May 1, 2013
It’s feeling a bit chippy, isn’t it?
Both teams are accusing the other of playing too physical. This talk of hit men and targets is incredible, and the implications they’re making are serious.
That said, playoff basketball is known to be more contact driven (something the Memphis Grizzlies clearly love). And if the Nuggets and Warriors are attempting to seek out specific foes and gut them, they need to do a better job of it. I mean the the Nuggets won Game 5 107-100. Contests dominated physical affliction aren’t supposed to be that high scoring.
This isn’t to say they’re not playing physical basketball, but is it really that bad? Are we really at the point where Jackson needs to imply that Denver has some form of a bounty system going on?
No. And after watching the plays in question that Jackson is talking about, hell no.
If this is Jackson’s version of a hit man targeting his team, then he’s not as tough as I thought he was. Neither of these plays screams malice. Not even slightly. And Jarrett Jack of the Warriors concurs.
I love GSW G Jarrett Jack’s rebuttal about Mark Jackson’s comments about the Nuggets’ “dirty play:” Reporter: Was it dirty? Jack: Nope.
— David Baumann (@DavidBaumann33) May 1, 2013
Let’s just go ahead and call Jack the voice of reason. Game 5 was a physical contest (though not really) and the Nuggets won. Not because they played dirty, but because they built an insurmountable lead. They scored a lot of point in the paint (50), forced a lot of turnovers (17) and simply outplayed the Warriors.
That’s it.
Were there some dirty plays? Yes and now. Players get away with fouls every game. That happened here. And it happened on both sides. But illegal screens that don’t send anyone flying to the floor aren’t dirty plays. Contesting shots and fouling Curry isn’t a dirty play.
Postseason basketball isn’t a picnic. If the Warriors (and Nuggets) think bodies are being thrown around now, just wait until one of them meets Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins in the second round. And after that, they should definitely thank their lucky stars that they wouldn’t have to meet Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph until the Western Conference Finals.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
