Bruce Bowen: Zaza took 'intentional' extra step against Kawhi
It takes one to know one.
Bruce Bowen, the infamous defensive specialist for the San Antonio Spurs, unsurprisingly took the Spurs' perspective on the play by Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia when Kawhi Leonard re-aggravated his ankle in Game 1.
"That play? I've watched it and, yeah, I thought he took an extra step," Bowen told Mike Monroe of Bleacher Report. "Plenty of time to stop where he did, but he continued moving in that direction of Kawhi. That seems like it's intentional and it's definitely dangerous."
Bowen is something of an expert on dirty plays. His jersey hangs in the rafters in San Antonio because he was so willing to embrace the defensive challenge - even if it meant hurting players in the process. On the specific subject of sliding feet under shooters, that move made Bowen notorious.
The Spurs' former stopper admitted that it's tough to fully assess intent, but in the case of Pachulia he is convinced there were cynical motives.
"What was his intent?" Bowen said. "You can rewind something five times and convince yourself of anything. What I saw, he kept moving in that direction after he contested the shot. You know you have to let a player come down. He kept walking into that space, so, for me, that says more about the intent."
The league office clearly disagrees since Pachulia was not given additional punishment after the fact. But Bowen isn't sure he would have received the same benefit of the doubt.
"I don't know what is going to happen to Zaza," Bowen said. "But if that had been me, I know what would have happened: suspension."