Green’s presence will be missed, but as we’ve seen previously, his backup will still get the job done. A statement announcing the discipline said that Green “made unnecessary contact with a retaliatory swipe of his hand to the groin” of James. Before the suspension for the physical contact (James has been nearly equally physical in defending Steph Curry), the news was more about the words exchanged between Green and James and the two teams, dialogue that has only amp’d up since.
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When asked about the rules that keep these Flagrant points and technicals building through the postseason, Steve Kerr noted that it’s unfair to players on teams that win-they play more games and therefore any punishment inflicted in the early rounds harms them far more than players for any team that loses early.
Suspended players don’t have to talk to the media, and Green, one of the most important Warriors, is now, officially, suspended.
Green’s defensive versatility is one of the keys to the Warriors’ defense, and his ability to play make out of pick-and-rolls helps the offense click.
“It’s messed to suspend a man over nothing”, Warriors center Mo Speights said. “It’s kind of a messed up situation”.
“When a guy steps over you, you have a moral obligation to punch him in the balls”, Barkley said. “I had a lot of respect for LeBron over his career, since he was in high school”.
Stephen Curry was less intense of his criticism, but he added, “I don’t know what LeBron’s intention was”.
“I was just trying to get back into the play”, James said.
TNT analyst and former National Basketball Association player Charles Barkley said on Bleacher Report radio Sunday that Green had a “moral obligation” to retaliate against LeBron for stepping over him. “Individual guys step up and play pretty special and have special efforts and come out with a win”. Thompson will have to do the same – if you’re going to poke that bear, you better be able to tame him, too.
Based on his salty reaction to being called a naughty word by Draymond Green, we can safely assume LeBron James, widely celebrated as the world’s greatest athlete, wouldn’t survive in the National Football League trenches or have been the choice of Branch Rickey to cross the baseball color line.
“Draymond just said something that I don’t agree with”, James said. “I’m all cool with the competition”.
Often, though, that’s when things can go haywire and veer off course. “So it’s a big suspension on their end, but we’ve still got to play”.
Q: Good strategic move for LBJ to goad Green into suspension for Game 5. Green’s suspension earned James something of a “tattletale” reputation with the Warriors. Klay Thompson has been solid on both ends despite failing to catch fire.
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson, the Warriors’ all-star shooting guard also empathized with the forward, saying “We know it’s going to kill him not being there, but we’re going to go out there and do it as a team and win for him”. And if they’re not careful, or don’t win tonight, they could run into it again very, very soon. You supposed to be the best in the league. James offered a fairly lukewarm response, saying it was “so hard to take the high road”.
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If you dared to dream you could see it as an exclamation point for the millennial generation, marking the moment when their National Basketball Association was every bit as compelling and important as their father’s; where Steph and LeBron could be a worthy answer for Larry and Magic or Michael vs.
