During the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 133-105 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, Draymond Green kicked Steven Adams right in the nuts, for the second consecutive game.
Here’s a picture of that Draymond Green kick of Steven Adams groin via @bterryphoto pic.twitter.com/r59TF6j2sy
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 23, 2016
It resulted in a Flagrant-1 foul for Green, and after the game, Green (of course) claimed that the kick was not intentional. “I’m sure he (Adams) wants to have kids one day”, said Green:
“I followed through on a shot,” Green said. “I’m not trying to kick somebody in the men’s section. I’m sure he wants to have kids one day. I’m not trying to end that on the basketball court. That don’t make sense. I brought the ball over the top this way [makes motion], he fouled me, and I brought my leg up. I mean, I know my core’s not strong enough to stop my leg halfway from wherever it was going.
Green did admit that when he saw the replay, he thought, “Uh oh”:
Honestly, I didn’t know I hit him. I walked to the 3-point line and clapped everybody’s hand, and I turned around, and he was on the floor. I’m like, ‘What happened?’ I’m standing at the 3-point line, I look at [Andrew] Bogut, and he looked at the replay, and he was like: [cringes] so then I looked at the replay, like, ‘Uh oh.
And Green should be saying “Uh oh”, because there would seem to be a good chance the star two-way forward is suspended for Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, with his team now trailing 2-1 in the series. Well, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (of course) backed Green on this one, and even thinks the Flagrant-1 should be rescinded:
Steve Kerr on Draymond’s kick: “Incidental contact. Should be rescinded. Westbrook kicks his legs out all the time” pic.twitter.com/tHE80JAuZW — Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) May 23, 2016
“Stuff like that happens all the time,” Kerr said. “There’s contact, people’s arms, legs flailing. If they think it’s on purpose, play the game, you know. This stuff happens all the time. [Russell] Westbrook kicks his feet out on every 3, and there is contact. I mean, that’s just part of the game. So I don’t understand how that can be deemed a flagrant 1. I think it should be rescinded.”
It’s certainly no surprise that Kerr is going to defend his player, especially when he really needs Green available for Game 4 to help prevent the Warriors from falling behind 3-1 in this series.
Maybe this really was an accidental kick… but it sure looks pretty intentional. And again, it’s the second straight game this has happened. As you’d assume, Adams certainly thinks it was intentional:
“I mean, it happened before, mate,” said Adams, who was kneed in the groin area while Green was shooting a transition layup during Game 2. “He’s pretty accurate, that guy.”
The league suspended the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Dahntay Jones one game for a groin shot to the Toronto Raptors’ Bismack Biyombo in the final seconds of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It will be interesting to see if the league gives Draymond Green the same punishment, and we should find out today.
[ESPN]
