Hopefully the furor has died down over the LeBron James and Draymond Green squabble. The squabble and alleged “nut check” led to Green’s one game suspension. During this one game suspension, LeBron who was initially matched up with Green went off for 41 points. Both he and Kyrie Irving went off for 41 points.
People have speculated the truth behind the suspension. The incident happened Friday during game 4. Following the game, Green was assessed a flagrant foul which put him over the limit prompting his suspension. LeBron given a technical foul for his taunting trash talk to Green.
Some will say the NBA was fearful of a short series. Viewership was down and another game would mean millions more for the NBA and these franchises. This series could have ended in five. A five game series is far less lucrative than a six or even SEVEN game series.
Draymond had been guilty of similar swipes at players’ nether region but it never prompted a suspension or flagrant foul call after the fact. We’ll never know the true reason why it was called day(s) later. Was it spearheaded by LeBron James’ postgame comments or maybe the fact that it was James would was intwined in the altercation spurned the league to make a decision? Was Draymond’s actions the straw that broke the donkey’s back or was the league searching for the perfect reason to prolong this series? Who knows?
It will be interesting to see how Golden State bounces back. They surely aren’t familiar with losing back-to-back game. Last series, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Warriors lost back-to-back and faced elimination. They surged past the Thunder in seven games, winning three in a row after their two consecutive loses. In this series, I can’t see Golden State losing three straight especially with Green coming back into the lineup just like I can’t see James and Irving dropping 82 points again the way they did in game 5.
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Josh Blake Writes 