the A tweet from the NBA communications handle It struck just before midnight.
commented Draymond Green.
I had to double check to make sure it’s not a fake account.
hanging? Green’s actions late in Game 2 of Sacramento’s win over Golden State were the talk of radio, television and podcasts on Tuesday. His response is a wrapped ankle Kings Domantas Sabonis’ center – stomping on Sabonis’ midsection followed by a Super Mario-like belly jump – earned him an ejection. Even this was called into question. The suspension is even worse.
hanging? truly? What a relief Sabonis survived this ordeal. After instigating the incident by grabbing Greene as he tried to take off with a transition, Sabonis—a 7’1-inch, 240-pound mountain man—writhed on the ground. Oscar De La Hoya looked less sore after a liver injury than Bernard Hopkins, Trevor Berbick got up faster against Mike Tyson. After the game, ESPN reported that Sabonis would get an x-ray to check for broken ribs. On Wednesday, the Kings listed Sabonis as questionable for Game 3 with a “shear bruise.” There is no information whether there was an MRI to detect any internal injuries.
hanging? I mean come on on, the NBA. In announcing the suspension, Joe Dumars — former bad boy turned NBA best cop — said the decision was “based in part on Green’s history in the non-sports business.” Shot in the groin from Steven Adams in 2016. Shot in the groin from LeBron James…weeks later in 2016. Elbow to James Harden’s throat two years later. Not to mention the altercations he had with his teammates (Kevin Durant, Jordan Paul) that resulted in an indoor penalty. For years, Green collected technical fouls as easily as rebounds, which infuriated the decision-makers at the Olympic Tower.
but hanging? Give me a break.
Green’s reaction was wrong. Sabonis got dirty and Green reciprocated. With the advantage of infinite replay, it’s easy to say Green should have wiggled free or even dropped, which if called a technical foul Golden State would have had at least one free throw and the ball. But in the heat of the moment, after 40 minutes of physical up and down play, he could be forgiven for reacting the way Green did. Or at least not be overly punished.
“I would have done the same,” Shaquille O’Neal said on TNT. “I would really do it. Don’t catch me. Like, if you stay there and try to run forward, I’m going to fall. You’ve got to pick him up off your back. And if I stop him on your way in the way, you might get run over. Was it a sloppy play? Of course it was a sloppy play.” [But] If you don’t catch me, this won’t happen.”
“What Sabonis did was wrong,” said Richard Jefferson on ESPN. “I was going to kick him. I don’t know if I was going to step on him. But I have to start. This is the postseason. Sabonis knew what he was doing.”
The NBA is proactive in such situations. Concept. The League doesn’t want to go back to the days of Kevin McHale dressing up as Bill Laimbeer or Larry Bird swinging at Dr. G. Green is this generation’s Rune Artiste, which is highly unpredictable and requires special police action.
But this number is too large. Golden State did indeed pay a heavy price as the Green lost in the final seven minutes of Game Two. Now they will have to pay another price. They are down 2-0 and face road Better than expected for a confident Kings team. And they will have to do without their best defender. The NBA could have ended this story Wednesday. Instead they made it bigger. And what’s worse.