Draymond Green wasted no time in sounding after his controversial dismissal from the Warriors’ victory in Game 1 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
Shortly after the Warriors stunned the Grizzlies and the noisy FedExForum home crowd with a 117-116 victory, Green returned to his Memphis hotel room, set up his recording equipment, and held an emergency session on The Draymond Green Podcast.
After mentioning that he was going to record a longer podcast that shattered the whole game, Green got down to business.
“Now let’s talk about what everyone is here for, what everyone wants to talk about, and that is to kick me out … I’m not quite sure what, but a foul,” Green said. “Very interesting. You know, one thing about the foul is that I actually tried to hold it [Brandon Clarke] up and well, they didn’t tell me anything because I left the court, but the boys told me I was thrown because I threw him, which is very interesting, because even when he hit the ground, I still kept his shirt up. But at this point, I’m expecting things like this, as if I was eliminated from Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Do you think that for a second I do not believe that I will be expelled from game 1 of the second round? Not surprising to me at all. Not a bit. “
With just over a minute to the end of the second quarter and the Warriors trailing by one, Green fouled Clark, and as he pushed Clark’s body, Green’s hand gripped Clark’s face and grabbed Clark’s shirt. Momentum dragged Clark to the floor.
Crew boss Kane Fitzgerald and the other two referees discussed it and decided to review the game. After discussions with the replay center, it was found that Green had committed a Flagrant 2 penalty, which led to his expulsion from the game.
“When they reviewed the offense for as long as they reviewed it, I said to myself, ‘Hmm, I wonder what they might think would probably take that long?’ “Actually, I’m dumb enough to think I’m not going to get Flagrant 1. Talk about an idiot. If you want to call someone an idiot, look no further than Draymond Green himself.
Since I was literally sitting there like … you know what madness is, I was going to start dancing in the crowd, saying “Kick him out, kick him out” to make fun of them because it’s like “Kick him out for that?” so, I would start dancing. And when I literally started to get off the table, something said to me, “But you’re in this play, Draymond. So, since you’re in this game, you probably have to “don’t dance,” because you probably always have to expect the unexpected. So, the little bird sitting on my shoulder these days said to me, “Um, just wait a minute. Don’t get up, dance and make fun of them, because if you get up and make fun of them, of course, if” Then do not expect the unexpected, you will soon be able to be ridiculed.
“And so I sat there. And then the clerk turned. It was hard for him to say [us what happened]. He said “There will be a Flagrant …” and a long pause of “Two.” He didn’t even want to say it would be Flagrant 2, which was very interesting to me, because again I’m dumb enough to think that it won’t even be Flagrant 1, that the playoffs are a little harder and not so much. soft as the regular season that you can hit a little and get away with a little more, but we saw questionable calls in the first round, things that were not reviewed. Sometimes I guess it’s just a case in point, it’s a matter of reputation. I think tonight was probably more about reputation than a serious foul. “
Memphis fans actually chanted “Throw him away,” and when Green learned he had been kicked out, he was really dancing, making fun of the fans before leaving the court and heading up the tunnel to the locker room.
RELATED: Clark not shocked by Draymond’s expulsion due to past fouls
After the match, Fitzgerald spoke to a reporter at the pool in Memphis and said that there were several reasons why the Flagrant 2 penalty was imposed.
“The first part was rolling up and making significant contact with the face, and then pulling off the shirt and throwing it on the floor to a vulnerable player in the air makes it unnecessary and excessive,” Fitzgerald said. “That led to a second penalty for a foul.”
Green apparently disagrees with this assessment of what happened in the game and hopes the NBA will reduce the penalty to Flagrant 1. The league must come up with a decision at some point on Monday.
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