The Cleveland Cavaliers won’t have guard Dahntay Jones for one playoff game after Jones dropped Toronto Raptors big man Bismack Biyombo with a below-the-belt punch.
The Golden State Warriors now could face a similar situation — and with a player far more talented and important to their cause than Jones is to Cleveland.
Draymond Green received a flagrant-1 foul Sunday night for booting Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the man zone during Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. It was the second time in as many games Green landed a crotch shot on the mustachioed New Zealand native, and it brought his status for Tuesday’s pivotal Game 4 into question.
The NBA could very well suspend Green and force the Warriors to make do without their best defensive player in a game that, after the Thunder smoked them 133-105 on Sunday to take a 2-1 series lead, now is a near must-win for the reigning champs.
But will he be banned? Well, that depends on who you ask.
Both Green and Warriors coach Steve Kerr were adamant that the kick wasn’t  intentional, with Green doing so in his usual entertaining fashion.
Oklahoma City’s players, meanwhile, sang a different tune.
Russell Westbrook, who finished with 30 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in the win despite not playing a second in the fourth quarter, said Green’s recent history made it difficult to believe he kicked Adams accidentally.
“I haven’t seen it, but honestly, I think it’s intentional,” Westbrook told reporters, via ESPN.com’s Royce Young. “That’s two times in the last two games. You know, I don’t think you can keep kicking somebody in their private areas. He probably says he didn’t do it on purpose, but I think, the way I look at (it), it looks intentional to me.”
As for Adams himself? He also believed Green knew exactly what he was doing.
The cheap shot was a rotten cherry on top of a horrendous night for Green, who managed just six points on 1-of-9 shooting and posted a career-worst minus-43 rating as Golden State suffered by far its worst playoff loss of Kerr’s tenure as coach.
Thumbnail photo via Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images
