If you’ve been following the tensions of the NBA Finals, you’ve seen the progress of both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. More importantly, you’ve seen the shift in attitude on both teams from key players like Lebron James, Steph Curry, and the consistently called on, Draymond Green.
Green now faces punishment based off of his track record throughout the playoffs and the finals combined. The league announced Sunday (June 12) that Green is suspended from the upcoming Game 5, over an incident with James during the previous NBA finals game.
Apparently after being knocked down by King James during the fourth quarter, and retaliated by tapping his groin and later swatting at James. As a result, Green caught a double technical foul, which got him four flagrant points throughout the post-season. After the league reviewed the footage, Green was slapped with a flagrant foul, while James received a technical foul.
Both players shared their feelings on the incident during a post-game interviews.
“Draymond said something that I don’t agree with,” James explained. “I’m all cool with the competition, I’m all fine with that, but some of the words that came out of his mouth were a little bit overboard. Being a guy with pride, a guy with three kids and a family, things of that nature, just some things go overboard, and that’s where he took it.”
Green said it was James that ignited things. “I felt he stepped over me. You’re not just gonna’ step over me like that,” he said. “There’s many routes you can take, don’t just step over me like that. We had our words, it is what it is. I don’t care who you are, I’m not gonna back down from you.”
Players have been having tense run-ins throughout the playoffs and the finals. In fact, after James jawed with Green he did the same with Curry, which both players chalked up to in-game trash talk.
Because of his earlier flagrant foul toward Steven Adams in the playoffs, his tally keeps adding up. “While Draymond Green’s actions in Game 4 do not merit a suspension as a standalone act, the number of flagrant points he has earned triggers a suspension for Game 5,” NBA executive vice president of basketball operation Kiki VanDeWeghe said in a statement.
Green has not yet released a statement on the suspension.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cxlThiXNNjg