Draymond Green didn’t play, but the Warriors won. The champion reacted with energy and conviction in a decisive match, the one that would have put them 3-0 against, a result that no one has ever traced, in case of defeat. The Kings greatly lowered their level of success with respect to the Sacramento games, Stephen Curry was Stephen Curry and the Warriors avoided a major upset despite the sanction Draymond Green received and the last minute loss of Gary Payton. Without two of their best defenders, they left the best offense in the NBA this season at 97 points.
Domantas Sabonis did play, although it was doubtful because of the impact he received in the chest when Draymond Green stepped on him, leading to the play that ended in his ejection, his row with the Kings fans and, later, his one-game ban. The Warriors power forward received that punishment for his action and due to factors such as his status as a repeat offender and that subsequent ruckus in which he made gestures to provoke the stands.
Anyone who knows Green could imagine that he would not wait quietly for hours until Game 4, when he will be able to play again. On his podcast, The Draymond Green Showmade it clear that he is not satisfied with how what happened was resolved: “I didn’t know you could get suspended for a type two flagrante that you committed seven years ago.. Nor that they could penalize you for interacting with an audience that is insulting you all the time, saying obscene things to you, singing to you that you suck… but you do something and they penalize you. I didn’t know that either.” He did celebrate the team’s reaction after the controversy and the two defeats to open the series: “We played well. Really good. My boys were up to the challenge and it was amazing to watch the game. I hope that everyone had a good time watching it… because I, honestly, can’t say that I had a good time”.
Green already said after the game, and before learning of the sanction, that Sabonis had grabbed his leg from the ground and that he could not do anything else to avoid falling with the risk of injuring himself. Several NBA players, former players and coaches have agreed with his version, have criticized the sanction or have considered that the Kings’ Lithuanian center should also have been punished for grabbing Green first from the ground. Paul George had this to say on his podcast: “The sanction was not fair, they did it for things that have to do with the past. I had never seen Sabonis do anything like that either. They are the emotions that provoke the playoffs…”. Doc Rivers has also criticized the NBA: “The NBA has set a dangerous precedent. And I say seriously. If we are going to start punishing those who do something after being provoked but the one who provokes, the instigator, we have a problem in this league”.
When talking about the past, Green refers to the tremendous controversy of 2016, when he was sanctioned for the fifth game after a blow to LeBron James after what he too considered a provocation. The Warriors led 3-1, but lost at home that fifth game without Green, his defensive banner, and the next two. And they were the first team in all of history that allowed such a lead to be overcome in the Finals.
