Last night was a bizarre night in the NBA to say the least. The mighty, record-setting Golden State Warriors got blown out of Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, and trailed by 41 points at one stage of the game. Outside of a couple early flashes of brilliance from Stephen Curry, GSW looked as if they were suffering from jet lag for much of Game 3, and they’re now lagging behind in the series. OKC will take a 2-1 lead into tomorrow night’s Game 4, where they’ll look to take advantage of the home court advantage they swiped in Game 1, and go up 3-1 on the defending champs.
However, yesterday’s blowout has been overshadowed by a much more interesting story, one that could make or break the Warriors moving forward. For the second consecutive game, Draymond Green‘s leg landed a kick to the groin area of Thunder center Steven Adams, and last night’s incident has been a lot harder to write off as inadvertent than the Game 2 incident for many. Though Draymond immediately advised officials, and eventually the press, that he didn’t try to deliberately kick Adams in his cojones, some of his pleads have fallen on deaf ears. Russell Westbrook, for one, believes that the kick was intentional, and today, after watching replays of the play ad-infinity, several members of the press are beginning to lean towards to the “intentional” verdict as well.
However, the only say that matters is the Association’s, and we’ll know what that will be later today. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported earlier today that the NBA will make a decision on whether or not to suspend Draymond Green for Game 4 by the day’s end.
ESPN sources say that an official decision from the league office on Draymond Green’s status for Game 4 is expected by day’s end Monday.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) May 23, 2016
If Green is in fact suspended for tomorrow night’s game, the Warriors uphill battle to even the series at 2 will become much more daunting. Green, the versatile All-Star and triple-double specialist, is a key component of the Warriors’ schemes to defend Kevin Durant, and is by far the team’s best interior scoring option.
Stay tuned, as we’ll be updating this post with the NBA’s decision once it’s announced.
