The talk of the NBA has been the illegal wrestling move Golden State’s Zaza Pachulia inflicted on Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook in Saturday night’s game.
With just over two minutes left in the third quarter “Dirty Zaza” Pachulia reared his ugly head; he tried to take out Russell Westbrook’s kneecaps and end his career. Westbrook knifed through the Warriors defense for an attempted layup in traffic. He fought with Nick Young and Dirty ZaZa for the rebound and landed on the floor amid the scrum. Dirty ZaZa, completely untouched, acted like he too was off-balanced and launched his 275 pound frame across Wesbrook’s legs as he lay helpless on the floor.
According to Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post the NBA will not discipline “Dirty Zaza” for the wresting maneuver:
For those hoping/wondering/expecting the NBA to discipline Zaza Pachulia in the wake of Saturday's incident with Russell Westbrook, I can report the NBA will not be taking any action against him. Pachulia and the Warriors play the Knicks at MSG tonight.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 26, 2018
The move was totally uncalled for and was a non-basketball play. Dirty Zaza’s intent was clearly to hurt Westbrook and potentially end his career. What positive could possibly come out of launching his 275 pound frame at Westbrook’s knees?
The NBA said it would look into Dirty Zaza’s play more carefully after he purposely hurt Kawhi Leonard in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last season. Dirty Zaza stepped stepped under Leonard while he was attempting a jump shot and injured Leonard’s ankle. The NBA should have fined Dirty Zaza and handed him a lengthy suspension. Ridiculous!
