“You know Russell [Westbrook] said I did it on objective, but he’s a part of the superstar group that started all this acting in the NBA”, Green said on Monday. “If he were struggling with anything, I would know”, Kerr said. He called me that way. “I sold the call”. “I know I didn’t do it on goal”. “This is its own separate game and we’re going to have to go now on the road to play in a very hard environment against a great team”. “He said, ‘Draymond, I’m not saying intentional”.
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“He takes a physical pounding and he’s a tough kid”, Donovan said. Green is the talk of the basketball world after accidentally or intentionally kicking Steven Adams in the groin simultaneously after getting fouled. Honestly, I don’t think it was intentional at all.
“I know what I’ve been to this team for years now, and I haven’t been that these last two games”, Green explained, later adding: “I was f–ing very bad, and I’m not afraid to say it”. “I didn’t argue it”.
Livingston said the Warriors still know they can beat anybody, but he and his teammates clearly understand that they have to play almost perfectly the rest of the way.
The incident occurred with 5:57 remaining in the second quarter of the Thunder’s 133-105 win over the Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on May 22 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
So after spending the bulk of Monday deliberating what to do next, the decision came down that Green will be eligible to play in Game 4 of the series Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Green continued. “It was always great”. Mainly because I know what I’ve been to this team for years now, and I haven’t been that these last two games. “So, no, I’m not bracing for the worst”. “It was quiet”, Kerr said.
In this case, damning video and the fact that he got Adams in the groin area in Game 2 as well notwithstanding, it didn’t seem so and the National Basketball Association agreed.
It will take Green bouncing back from his terrible Game 3; if anybody can absorb the rage of 18,000 fans and use it as fuel, it’s Green, but this is now at an emotional apex. “I think he really found his stride tonight, and I think that momentum will carry over”. I knew the league was going to let him play or fine him, upgrade him to a Flagrant “2”. we all knew that was going to happen.
Green – one of the NBA’s most valuable players and the key to much of the Warriors’ success this year – refused to admit wrongdoing after Game 3, claiming that the kick was merely part of his follow-through. Because, I mean, it’s tough to win a championship. “He went up for a shot”. I think he can play that way in Game 6. The biggest reason why it didn’t happen was because Speights carried the offense for over four minutes, scoring nine points in that stretch and buying the starters enough time to rest. So this is not like, he did this twice. Oklahoma City Thunder All-star Kevin Durant candidly pointed out that it is “just business”. “He just punched him”. It’s a competitive game – guys are talking trash out there.
“Every game you have a sense of urgency, it’s the playoffs and you know what everybody’s playing for”.
“That’s what was frustrating to me”, he said. A lot of flopping. “There’s contact, people’s arms, legs flailing”.
That’s what you expect to hear from a defending champion that crushed all comers during a record regular season and didn’t lose a game with a healthy Curry in the first two rounds. And sometimes that can lead to contact.
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Green was given a flagrant one foul at the time of the incident. No bravado. The Warriors have been humbled, taken apart, piece by piece and Green found himself searching for solutions. “He kicked his leg up”. I’m not trying to kick somebody in the midsection.
