Life is all wine and roses when you’re the defending world champions and on your way to a record 73-win season and everyone treats you like the best thing since the Michael Jordan Bulls. But longevity and the ability to maintain excellence always have separated legendary teams from one-hit wonders.
The Warriors desperately want to defend their championship of a year ago and validate their history-making regular season, but their overall legacy is yet to be written. Draymond Green offered an ugly chapter in Sunday night’s Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City, where he initially received a Flagrant Foul 1 for kicking Thunder center Steven Adams in the groin after being fouled on a shot.
The NBA decided Monday not to suspend Green even though his action was upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2, and he was fined $25,000. Kiki VanDeWeghe, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations, called Green’s actions “unnecessary and excessive,” but apparently took Green’s word that he didn’t do it on purpose. The Warriors All-Star forward first told reporters he was only “following through on the shot,” and never would risk getting thrown out of a game.
“I know how important I am to my team,” Green wrote in his first-person diary published by The Undefeated. “Being that I know that, I’m not going to be that obvious and try to kick a man down there. That’s not something I would even do. Hitting someone down there, you can ruin a lot more. Why do that?”
The league said it reviewed all video angles of the kick and interviewed the players and officials involved. We may never know Green’s real intention, but at the very least he acted in frustration. With 5:57 left in the second quarter Green was driving hard to the basket when he got tangled with Adams, who was playing tight defense. Green went up, got knotted in Adams arms and then kicked his right foot up between Adams’ privates.
No wonder Adams was doubled over in pain. Oklahoma City was leading 48-40 at the time and gaining momentum for what would end in a one-sided 133-105 whipping that gives the Thunder a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. It’s also the first time we’ve seen the Warriors’ character really tested. The Thunder are proving tall enough, athletic enough and determined enough to stand up to Golden State.
Green should have sat for at least one game because that’s the kind of zero-tolerance climate the NBA has created, and it’s hypocritical to change things now. Dennis Rodman often would kick reporters on the sidelines during nationally televised games and most brushed it off as Rodman being Rodman. But as Lawrence Taylor said, “These ain’t the ’80s anymore,” nor the ’90s either.
Giving Green a pass sends the wrong message. The Warriors might be today’s Bulls and every bit as popular given Stephen Curry’s back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards. But the NBA’s decision smacks of favoritism.