Draymond Green Suspended for Game 5, Klay Thompson Continues to Blatantly Disrespect LeBron James
With a few minutes left in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green got into an altercation while play continued around them. Both players were called for personal fouls at the time; however, LeBron’s was upgraded to a technical foul and Draymond’s has been called a Flagrant 1.
Unfortunately for Green, he was one Flagrant away from a suspension. That suspension will now be served Game 5.
Now, the decision shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. First, Draymond is a dirty player, plain and simple. I’m not going to sugar coat it for the Warrior fans out there. But with Golden State up 3-1, the league needed an excuse to stretch the Finals out. More games, more money.
Adam Silver should thank his lucky stars Green was one Flagrant away from a suspension. Green’s shot at James’ privates wasn’t nearly as bad as the Judo kick he landed in Steven Adams’ man square in the Western Conference Finals—a kick he was not suspended for, mainly because the Warriors were down 2-1 at the time.
So before Warrior fans start complaining that their master nut shooter will be missing a game, please remember that he got off easy against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Anyways, here’s Green’s excuse:
“He stepped over me, and I felt like that was disrespectful,” said Green after the game. “I don’t disrespect you on the court. Don’t disrespect me. There’s no love lost. It is what it is. It’s a battle out there. I’m going to battle with whoever it is. We had our words.”
Well, those words are what got Draymond in trouble to begin with (that and trying to hit LeBron in the baby-maker). Green called James a “bitch” and much worse, sparking a reaction from The King.
“Draymond said something that I don’t agree with. I’m all cool with the competition; I’m all fine with that, but some of the words that came out of his mouth were a little bit overboard…that’s where he took it.”
A nice, cultured response to a cheap shot by Green. Sadly, the Warriors still haven’t learned to carry themselves with the same class.
“I saw them barking at each other,” said Klay Thompson Sunday. “But guys talk trash in this league all the time. I’m just kind of shocked some guys take it so personal. It’s like—it’s a man’s league. I’ve heard a lot of bad things on that court, but at the end of the day, it stays on the court. We’re all competitive people. Trash talk is a part of the game of basketball. It’s a part of any sport, especially this competitive.”
Then Klay decided to bless us with his some insight on humanity as well as his opinion on what happened.
“Obviously, people have feelings. People’s feelings get hurt if they’re called a bad word. I guess his feelings just got hurt.”
How long do you have to be the best player in the world to earn some respect? You don’t have to be a fan of LeBron, but you shouldn’t try to get a rise out of him every chance you get. Klay and Stephen Curry have been making comments about LeBron since the series started.
“It’s so hard to take the high road,” laughed LeBron after being informed of Klay’s comments. “I’ve been doing it for 13 years, and I’m going to do it again.”
At least with Green banned from the arena during Game 5 everyone’s junk can rest easy.