'I am not a victim'; Golden Warriors Star Draymond Green ready for Game 2
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- After 36 hours of chatter and watching his teammates pull off a hard-fought victory from the locker room, Warriors star Draymond Green says he's putting his controversial Game 1 ejection behind him and is totally focused on Tuesday night's Game 2 of the NBA semifinal series against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The ejection came with 1:18 left in the second quarter. Green originally was called for a foul on Brandon Clarke. Officials reviewed the play where Green hit Clarke in face while attempting to block his shot. He then tugged on Clarke's jersey, who went down on his stomach. But it appeared as though Green tried to help hold him up as Clarke hit the court.
Officials took their time reviewing the play as Memphis fans chanted "Throw him out!" Then they determined Green committed a Flagrant 2, sending him to the locker room with six points, four rebounds, three assists and five turnovers in 17 minutes.
The official explanation was that Green hit Clarke in the face and threw him to the ground on a follow-through.
"The first part was the wind-up and significant contact to the face, and then the pull down from the jersey grab and throw down to the floor to an airborne vulnerable player makes that unnecessary and excessive," referee chief Kane Fitzgerald told a pool reporter after the game. "That's what led to the flagrant foul penalty two."
But the call immediately drew social media criticism from across the basketball spectrum including current and former players. Most felt the severity of the penalty was the result of Green's reputation as a gritty, physical player and for his tendency to verbally joust with referees over a call.
On Monday, the NBA chose to let the call stand and not lower the severity to a flagrant 1. On his podcast, Green had speculated a reduction might come.
"I also said (on his podcast) if you looking for a dummy or idiot look not further than Draymond Green, so my expectations are usually off," he told reporters Monday.
And after so much angst, Green appeared to be ready to move on. When asked if he felt victimized by the referees, he replied:
"I play basketball for a living, have an incredible family, an incredible life. I'm not picked on, there's other people that's picked on. I'm no victim. I'm good money. I told y'all on my podcast, my reputation is a badge of honor. Not everybody can earn that reputation. So life goes on"
But under league rules there is a limit to the number of flagrant fouls a player can collect before earning a one-game suspension. The total number is four with flagrant 2 foul accounting for 2.
When asked if fear of suspension -- like he was during the ill-fated 2016 NBA Finals -- would impact his play, Green said:
"Absolutely not. Because if I take the bite out of the way I play, we go home early and the (flagrant) points don't matter anyway."