Klay Thompson dismissed James Harden’s complaints following a Golden State Warriors Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday, one filled with controversy surrounding the officials and their shy whistles in regards to 3-point shooters.
After the loss, Harden argued that he just wanted to be officiated fairly, using Kawhi Leonard’s injury as a reminder of how crucial calls on jump-shooting players can be:
“I just want a fair chance, man. Call the game how it’s supposed to be called and that’s it. And I’ll live with the results,” said Harden, according to Mark Medina of The Mercury News. “We all know what happened a few years back with Kawhi. That can change the entire series. Just call the game the way it’s supposed to be called and we’ll live with the results. It’s plain and simple.”
Thompson turned that down quickly, noting that Harden is notorious for simulating to get the call:
“If they’re going to land in front of where they started, it’s on the offensive player,” Thompson said. “As a defender, you have to stay in your spot, go stay up and stay down and stay in your spot to the best of your ability and not try to drift into your body. I probably did a good job of that going straight up and straight down.”
Harden clearly scissored his legs on the last play of regulation, attempting a 3-pointer over Warriors big man Draymond Green and hoping to draw the contact by exaggerating and extending his lower body toward the defender.
The gambit didn’t work, so the reigning MVP and his coach begged for whistles in the postgame press conference, something that has already alerted the NBA.
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