George Karl denies allegations of Nuggets targeting Stephen Curry
Denver's George Karl denies the accusations from Golden State's Mark Jackson that the Nuggets put 'hit men' out to injure the Warriors' Stephen Curry.
By
Matt Moore
•
1 min read
Nuggets coach George Karl lashed back at Warriors coach Mark Jackson on Wednesday after Jackson said the Nuggets had sent "hit men" at Golden State guard Stephen Curry during Tuesday night's Game 5 in a pre-meditated attack with intent to injure the thin shooter.
From the Denver Post:
"Every playoff series I've been in, and I've been in a lot of them, as the series goes on, it gets more physical," said Karl...
"We don't like each other, we shouldn't like each other, there's pain and anguish to every win and loss. Competitive spirit. I'm just trying to figure out what movie he's watching, because it's not the one I'm watching."
Asked if he takes the allegations personally, Karl said, "Not when I think it doesn't exist."
Faried said Wednesday that not only was he not going after the ankle, but he had forgotten that Curry even had ankle injuries.
As for Karl, he said: "I know my integrity - I guarantee you, I never, ever wanted to hurt anybody in basketball, but I do want my team to compete and play hard. Most speeches I tell teams are play hard and stand up and be a competitor, and if you do that, I'll work my tail off to try to make you a good player."
via George Karl says Mark Jackson "watching different movie" in Nuggets playoffs - The Denver Post.
Karl also said if you did a scoring of the series based on dirty play, the Warriors would be winning, continuing what the Nuggets said Tuesday night.
It was surprising to see a second-year head coach questioning the integrity of a 30-year veteran in Karl. But then, Jackson was immensely competitive as a player as well. In changing the narrative leading into Game 6, Jackson has managed to: a) ramp up what was already going to be a riotous Oakland crowd, and b) change the story from the pressure on Golden State and possible injuries to Curry and Andrew Bogut.
Karl's not denying that the game was physical, but he's rightfully insulted at the accusation there was scheming to play it that way. We'll have to see if the league disciplines Jackson, or Faried.
