OAKLAND — Despite recent scrutiny for what some considered to be an illegal close out on Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, Zaza Pachulia remains fixated on one goal – helping his team close out the Spurs.
Neither Draymond Green nor Stephen Curry seemed too worried on Thursday about their center’s mindset heading into hostile territory Saturday night. The play has split NBA fans between those who believe it was inadvertent and those who think it was dirty. After Gregg Popovich’s rant to the media in which he referenced Zaza’s history and ostensibly called him a dirty player, the tensions between the two teams have only tightened.
The recent controversy between Zaza and Kawhi will likely add fuel to the fire of an already-raucous Spurs crowd Saturday night, but Curry provided some words of wisdom for his center.
“He’ll be ready, he’ll be the same Zaza,” Curry said. “That’s what we expect and he knows that we have his back.”
The Warriors have struggled mightily in the past in San Antonio, and with Spurs fans trying to jumpstart their team and get them back in the series, the Warriors will have their hands full as they try to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.