In just his second game back this season, Kyrie Irving was on the receiving end of what he felt was a dangerous play by an opposing forward.
The Brooklyn Nets star Irving was trying to track down a loose ball during the fourth quarter of the team’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers when Blazers forward Nassir Little dove for the ball and rolled over into Irving’s left ankle. Take a look at the sequence.
After the game, Irving called out Little over the play.
“Just one of those bad plays,” said Irving, per SportsNet New York. “I tried to get out of the way, but I just felt like it was unnecessary for him to dive that far away from the ball. I was just trying to get out the way … I asked the refs, you just gotta protect our players out there … I get Nassir wants to go for the ball, but it’s just a bad play.
“That’s just not a good play for basketball,” Irving added. “There’s just no place in our game for it. Obviously, I get the intent from Nassir … but it could have been avoided.”
For his part, Little responded on Twitter to the accusation that he had committed a dirty play.
“I would never hurt someone on purpose,” Little tweeted. “I have the utmost respect for Kyrie! But y’all are delusional if you think this is a bad play, and I’d do it again. Idgaf what y’all talkin about.”
“Idgaf” is Internet slang for “I don’t give a f—.’
I would never hurt someone on purpose, I have the utmost respect for Kyrie! But y’all are delusional if you think this is a bad play, and id do it again. Idgaf what y’all talkin about https://t.co/kcChvvupG4
— Nassir Little (@2ez_nassie) January 11, 2022
It is hard to fault Little for hustling after a loose ball, especially in the fourth quarter of a five-point game. But that type of play obviously strikes a nerve with Irving, who has already had ankle injuries before from being undercut.
