The League was Wrong to Suspend Draymond Green
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The Warriors had a must win game last night and they did just that. They won the game. They won by a lot. And they made this series with the Kings look a whole lot different.
Things could've been much worse for the kings. Draymond Green was suspended for this game. I'm sure you all have seen or heard why he was suspended. He "stomped" on Domantas Sabonis, the league decided they needed to set an example and Green was the perfect person to do this with. He has a past. He has been suspended for big playoff games before. He is a noted agitator. Go ask Steven Adams or LeBron James. They will tell you exactly what you want to know about him. Green is a dirty player who makes no excuses for his dirty play. I am not a fan of his at all. One, he is a Michigan State grad. Two, he is a dickhead. Three, he has been uplifted by the perfect situation for his style of play and been surrounded by great players. But he has earned the right to be talked about as a hall of fame player. I think he belongs. I think he is a very important part of this Warriors dynasty. He is the modern unicorn and one of the best defensive players to ever play the game. He is also one of the smartest players to play the game. So the Warriors got lucky, they got the win with him out and they kept this series interesting. But I don't think he should have been suspended.
I think this was the wrong move by the NBA. I think they reacted too swiftly and didn't really think about all that went into the suspension. I think they saw the "stomp", they saw it was Draymond and they went from there. Hell, they said as much in their press release. But go back and watch the play. At first glance I thought Draymond was in the wrong and I believed he should have been ejected from that game. That would have been the best punishment the league could have given him and we all could have moved on from there. But when you go back and watch the play, Sabonis is clearly grabbing his leg. Draymond is trying to get back on defense, the Kings have been running the whole time so far, but his forward momentum was being impeded upon. Sabonis grabbed him and wouldn't let go. The "stomp" was a bit much, but put yourself in that situation. Sit back and think back to a rec game that you may have played in your lifetime. What would you do if someone was grabbing you? You'd find a way to get out of that hold I assume. I know I would wiggle my leg until I got free, and if that didn't work, I might resort to a "stomp". Again, what Draymond did to get free was dirty, and he was ejected, but how can you see this and not think that Sabonis had something to do with it? Sabonis is a dirty player himself. He throws elbows all the time. He whips the ball in people's faces and, as the Warriors stated, uses it as a weapon. He is always grabbing a kicking and trying to bait other guys into technical fouls. And it worked with Draymond the other night, but the suspension was uncalled for. Sabonis wasn't hurt. I know the team said he had "sternum contusions", but I don't buy that for a second. Draymond didn't "stomp" him that hard. And if they suspended Draymond why didn't they do anything to Sabonis? Why wasn't he suspended? Where is his fine? He didn't get a flagrant called on him. It is unfair.
The Warriors had every right to be upset. Draymond, again, a guy I personally do not enjoy, did not deserve this. Why make an example of him now? What good does that do? This was a bogus suspension and the NBA should be grateful it didn't mess up this fun series so far. Had the Warriors gone down 3-0 this would have a different tone today.
All in all the league needs to chill on this. The fact that Draymond got suspended for his "stomp", but neither Embiid nor Harden got suspended for what they did last night is a joke. This league, while great in most aspects, and is the best professional sports league by a wide margin, messed up here. They need to own up to this mistake and be better the next time. This was an unwarranted and unfair decision they ended up with. Luckily for them the Warriors won last night.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.