Golden State Warriors: Mark Jackson Accuses Denver Nuggets Of Dirty Play

Mark Jackson accuses the Denver Nuggets of dirty play, huh? Dirty play isn’t something that’s new to the Golden State Warriors head coach. He played for some of the dirtiest and nastiest New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers teams in the 1990s. If there’s someone who could recognize a dirty play, it should be him. For Jackson to publicly complain about it just reeks of irony.

It’s ironic that someone who made his living during a time that the NBA was many times more physical than it is today would complain about physical play. The 1992 Knicks were marketed as the “New Bad Boys” in this NBA video.

That team had Jackson, Patrick Ewing, Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley, John Starks and Anthony Mason on it. If that team played today, they’d not only foul out of every game, they’d set a record for most suspensions due to flagrant fouls.

Still, Jackson has to do his best to protect his players. Stephen Curry is the Warriors’ meal ticket at this point and he isn’t exactly durable. The Denver Nuggets decided (correctly) that the best way to beat Curry was to get more physical with him.

They weren’t undercutting him or getting beneath his feet on jumpshots. They didn’t slam him down or even get called for a flagrant foul against him. In fact, it was the Warriors who were called for two flagrant fouls in the game. Coach Jackson had the nerve to complain about dirty play when it was Andrew Bogut who did this to Kenneth Faried:

Yet, Jackson had some coarse words after a 107-100 loss in Game 5 of their Western Conference First Round series (courtesy of ESPN.com).

"“They tried to send hit men at Steph. They took a shot at his ankle, clearly. That can’t be debated.”"

Curry himself agreed that the tone of the series has changed and made note that he was getting banged around more than usual.

"“There were a couple of plays I was cutting down the lane and I’m not really involved in the play, and somehow I get an elbow to my chest.”"

So let’s recap. The Nuggets were getting dominated by a rather delicate player who continued to find himself open by running through screens. Uh, hello? Of course the Nuggets are going to get physical with Curry.

Are they supposed to sit back and let him rain jumpers all over the place? Are they supposed to let him freely move around without penalty? Should they just sit at home and let the Warriors win the series?

How does the old saying go? Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?