As a result of Kawhi Leonard‘s ankle injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last night, there are some basketball fans and analysts who feel that more needs to be done to protect the players.
Cleveland Cavaliers swingman Iman Shumpert chimed in with his opinion on the Leonard’s unfortunate injury after today’s practice session at Cleveland Clinic Courts. The savvy defenseman pointed out that there are already a lot of rules protecting offensive players, saying: “We don’t need any more.”
Via Chris Fedor of cleveland.com:
“Trust me, we don’t need the league putting in any more fouls and advantages for offensive players,” Shumpert said following the Cavaliers’ practice Monday afternoon. “We don’t need it. If you take a contest out of the game, come on.”
“I just think it’s an unfortunate position for a ref to be in to have to see that,” Shumpert continued. “It’s not really a call you can make. You’re trying to watch to make sure there’s no contact up high. A guy rolls his ankle, it’s incidental. It happens in this game.”
Leonard’s ankle injury occurred on a bit of a controversial play in the third quarter. As he went up for a corner jumper, Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia made a fumbling closeout attempt. Whether it was intentional or not, Pachulia slid underneath Leonard on his decent — a dirty move by most accounts, and one that is strictly monitored by the NBA.