After threatening an opposing player’s ability to have children for the third time, Draymond Green is now banned from his home arena for the potential NBA championship win and celebration.
Many debated if Green should have been suspended after kicking Steven Adams of Oklahoma City in the private area twice. This time he targeted the same area with a swing at LeBron James. When Adams doubled over after the first kick, Green taunted him.
Value Add Basketball ranked Green as the third best college player in the country in 2012, and one of very few to be among the top 2% of all players in each of his final three seasons. NBA scouts did not believe Value Add Basketball, and did not pick Green until the second round—a fact that Green used to motivate himself to rise to second team all-NBA and be the tough guy who balanced Golden State’s record three-point shooters to break the Chicago Bulls all-time win record.
He was named second team All-NBA this season.
But on Monday at 9 p.m. ET he will be asked to watch Game 5 on ABC like everyone else. He will incur a $140,000 fine if he even comes in the arena, though one would expect he will do it to get into the potential victory celebration.
The actual suspension was mandated by the number of flagrant fouls he has received in the playoffs, and if the NBA had given him a “flagrant 2” instead of a “flagrant 1,” then he would have also had to miss a Game 6 (which will only occur if Cleveland wins Monday, as they trail three games to one).
Conspiracy theorists that believe the NBA lines up results may point to these playoffs as an example. Golden State was down two games to one against Oklahoma City when the NBA decided NOT to suspend Green—thus increasing the chances their headline history making team would survive. In fact, it made no difference as Golden State lost the game in which Green was allowed to play but came back to win the last three games to make the Finals against Cleveland.
This time the series seemed all but over with Golden State taking a 3-1 lead with a road win at Cleveland, to eliminate much of the suspense due to only needing to win Monday in Oakland, where they are 50-3, to clinch.
Why even watch? But now with a key player missing to give Cleveland a chance of a road win, fans might tune in and if Cleveland wins they get to go back home where they have already defeated Golden State once. A win and Cleveland and the NBA would get what they (along with the NHL and Major League Baseball) always pray for—a coveted Game 7 ratings bonanza.
Conspiracy?
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