Tweet of the Night: Jalen Rose suggests Kemba Walker intentionally stuck his foot under Deron Williams

Remember when Jalen Rose openly admitted to intentionally trying to injure Kobe Bryant by sticking his foot under the guard’s landing space in the NBA Finals?

The former player and current ESPN analyst believes Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Bobcats pulled the same move against Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams on Wednesday.

Williams, who has had some tough luck with ankle injuries so far this season, sprained his ankle again after stepping on Walker’s foot in the first half and was unable to come back into the game. The struggling Nets dropped their third consecutive game, while Walker was exceptional with 31 points and five rebounds for the Bobcats. The question is, did Walker put his foot underneath Williams on purpose? That’s what Rose believes happened:

 

Kemba know he “Jalen Rose’d” (in Kobe voice) D-Will 2night. #NBA

— JALEN ROSE (@JalenRose) November 21, 2013

Here is the play in question (Watch at the 58-seconds mark, where Walker takes an extra step forward as Williams landed from his jump shot.):

It would certainly be dirty on Walker’s part to pull such a tactic with intent and surely, he would deny the notion if asked. Even if it was just a freak accident, players need to make a conscious effort to put their feet away from airborne players. Too often, a defender will lunge at a shooter and turn away to look at the basket while casually invading the landing space of the shooter. It may look innocent, but these guys know what they’re doing. Walker was a bit more blatant in making it a point to have his foot under Williams rather than attempting to keep it away. It would almost be an insult to Walker’s intelligence to say that he didn’t know what he was doing there. Whether it was just to bother Williams’ shot or being completely careless of the potential consequence, the foot was knowingly placed there.

If the league wants to keep its players as safe as possible, it should consider enforcing a stronger rule – perhaps a hefty fine for causing an ankle injury by making no conscious effort to stay away from the landing space of shooters. It may sound like a tricky thing to figure out because players may not always be paying attention, but it’s a very sensitive and delicate play – one that most players are and should be well aware of while playing defense. The players who claim to be unaware of where their feet are? Their awareness would drastically change if the league decided to fine players for sticking their foot where it doesn’t belong. If you can fine a player for cursing in a post-game interview or flopping, you can certainly fine them or worse for one of the most dangerous plays in basketball. As long as nothing is being done about the matter, players will continue to do what’s best for their team.

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James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.