During the Golden State Warriors 133-105 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday night, Draymond Green was assessed a Flagrant 1 for kicking Steven Adams in the groin. And that may not be the end of it.
Here’s a clip of the incident courtesy of SB Nation’s NBA dudes:
Is a suspension coming for Draymond Green? https://t.co/nGdQirdC6b https://t.co/E1fDcvaPzu
— SB Nation NBA (@SBNationNBA) May 23, 2016
Some wondered whether Green’s antics warrant a suspension for Game 4. Green, however, maintains that this was an accident, per the Bay Area News Group’s Marcus Thompson and Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding:
Draymond: "I don't know how anybody could say I did that on purpose regardless of how it looks."
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) May 23, 2016
Draymond: "I know I didn't do it on purpose."
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) May 23, 2016
Green, of course, is not suspended for Game 4. The NBA upgraded his foul to a Flagrant 1 Monday night, much to the displeasure of Oklahoma City fans.
It’s a tough play to call. Draymond Green definitely deserved the Flagrant 1 to say the least. His intent doesn’t matter. There is no basketball value to him raising and swinging his leg in that situation. Maybe it even deserves a Flagrant 2 in hindsight.
So, to sum up, the league did the right thing allowing Green to play in Game 4 while bringing him one Flagrant Foul away from a suspension.
Intent has to be a factor when considering a straight suspension. Was Green’s leg kick really a symptom of the play, of his unchecked reaction to losing the ball? Or did he deliberately exaggerate his leg motions with the hope of hitting Adams anywhere?
Those questions are impossible to answer definitively. But those claiming that intent is irrelevant just because it cannot be quantified or distinctly unearthed are missing the point.
The NBA in this case, with the Warriors trailing the Thunder 2-1 in the series, their title defense flatly on the line, had to make an educated guess. The stakes are too high not to consider intent, and they ultimately deemed Green’s Flagrant 1 to be excessive showmanship, not a deliberate act of malice. And in doing so, they safeguarded themselves against criticism for potentially shaping the biggest game this Warriors team has ever played for all the wrong seasons.
