A couple of nights ago, the Boston Celtics routed the Golden State Warriors on the road. Unfortunately, the Dubs lost much more than just one game, as Stephen Curry missed the second half with an injury.
Curry got hurt late in the first half of the game on a 50/50 ball. Marcus Smart dove to the floor to try and get control of the ball and unintentionally hit Curry. Now, he’ll be out indefinitely and hoping to be back in time for the playoffs.
Needless to say, the play drew contrasting takes on social media, with some Warriors fans blaming Smart and calling him dirty. However, Dubs’ Juan Toscano-Anderson doesn’t think he meant to hurt Steph.
Warriors News: Juan Toscano-Anderson Says It Wasn’t A Dirty Play By Smart
“I don’t think it was a dirty play,” Toscano-Anderson told the media. “Could’ve probably been a little more cautious. But when you play that hard and all you know is to do that. It’s kind of like me diving over the scoreboard for the ball. If I had time to think about it, I probably wouldn’t do it, but it’s just the natural instinct. We all know that’s Marcus Smart, though. That’s how he plays. He plays gritty, 50/50 balls. Unfortunately, Steph Curry was a casualty of that but that’s part of the game, right?”
Smart Says He Didn’t Try To Hurt Curry
Smart also claimed that he never intended to hit Curry. He just wanted to make the hustle plays he’s used to doing night in and night out, and hopes his reputation doesn’t suffer because of this incident:
“I didn’t see [Curry]. I saw the ball, I dove for the ball, trying to make a play,” the Celtics guard said. “Unfortunately that occurred. I’m sure I’m going to get called dirty. But I know who I am… I play very hard and I leave everything on the court… My teammates, my colleagues, they know I’m not a dirty player.”
In reality, there’s a bit of an unwritten code among NBA players over these situations. But you can never blame a guy for trying to make a play, hustling, and putting his body on the line. It’s the worst and least fortunate part of the game, but it happens.
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