David Fizdale thinks Kawhi Leonard might be a robot, and can you blame him?
No, Kawhi Leonard is not a robot. Sorry to spoil the fun. If you clicked on this for an investigation into Leonard’s humanness, you’re going to come away disappointed.
But after Leonard destroyed the Memphis Grizzlies in Games 1 and 2 of the first round playoff series between the Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs, Memphis coach David Fizdale thinks an investigation might be required.
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“He was standing next to me the other night and he wasn’t breathing,” Fizdale said on Thursday before Game 3. “He wasn’t breathing. So I’m gonna check the rulebook to see if robots are able to play in the NBA, because somehow Pop and them have figured out, they know something I don’t know. I think he bleeds antifreeze or something.”
Leonard had 32 points in Game 1, a 111-82 Spurs victory, and followed that up with 37 points and 11 rebounds in Game 2, also a San Antonio win. Oh, and he’s been a dominant perimeter defender. So can you really blame Fizdale — who isn’t shy with the media — for being suspicious?
Fizdale has seen this movie before, too, as he pointed out on Thursday. He was a Miami Heat assistant when Leonard won Finals MVP as the Spurs defeated the Heat in 2014.
Fizdale’s real point, of course is that Leonard is a machine on the basketball court. He’s a top-five player in the league. “He is a big-time player. First-class individual. Tireless worker,” Fizdale said before the robot comment. “We gotta make some adjustments and try to do some different things against him, but give the kid credit.”
