On what has become a very divisive play, Green wildly threw his arms and legs into the air in order to draw a foul.
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Draymond Green got away from suspension but he should have gotten one after he kicked Steven Adams in the groin for the second time in their series.
In this Sunday, May 22, 2016 photo, Golden State’s Draymond Green’s leg is between the legs of Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams (12) during Game 3 of the Western Conference NBA basketball finals in Oklahoma City. Remember, I’m a Bulls fan, so I have no bias one way or another, but Green should have been suspended.
On Monday, Green continued to maintain his innocence and said that National Basketball Association official Scott Foster didn’t believe the kick was intentional.
Because of his actions, Green was fined $25,000 by the league.
“I’m not braced for the worst”, Green said Monday morning.
On what would have been an otherwise innocuous play, Adams fouled Green as he went up for a layup.
Green and Golden State coach Steve Kerr had been lobbying for the flagrant foul to be rescinded, insisting the kick was unintentional.
“Honestly I think it’s intentional”. We all knew that was going to happen.
“Does he have to be careful?”
“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.
“I’ve never been fined for one flop since I’ve been playing in the NBA”, Westbrook said. Make no mistake, with new improvements in this series and the Thunder having a 2-1 series lead, the Thunder have a chance to win this game tonight and plant the seeds to an upset.
“I don’t know about no flopping or nothing”, Westbrook said. He tried to sell it. He kicked his leg up. He expressed regret after the game, and said many times that he did not mean to kick Adams in the groin.
And if you thought Adams might not have noticed his No. 1 fan’s heroic efforts due to his game preparations, think again.
“That’s more frustrating to me”, Green said. “Everything else is pretty irrelevant to me”. But I love boos. “When things aren’t looking great, he usually plays his best”.
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Though much has been made, and rightfully so, of the Thunder’s size advantage, OKC took control of the Game 3 slaughter when it went to a smaller lineup featuring Dion Waiters for Adams, which sent Durant to center.
