Steph Curry and LeBron James (Photo : Twitter)
The NBA has suspended Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for hitting LeBron James in Game 4.
The basketball world continues to debate a crucial decision from the NBA that could dictate the direction of the series. The Warriors are up 3-1 and intend to end the series on their home court in Oakland on Monday evening.
But they will have to do it without Green. The general sentiment is that Green's action (to hit James in the groin) was a reaction to LeBron James' perceived disrespectful act of stepping over him when he was knocked to the ground.
This is what Steph Curry pointed out in a press conference and he aired his personal sentiments including what he might do if he were in his teammates' shoes (h/t Clutch Points)
The play was compared to previous incidents where one player stepped over another. One of them involved Allen Iverson stepping over current Cavs coach Tyronn Lue when he was still playing in the NBA Finals for the Lakers. Another involved Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls stepping over Patrick Ewing.
"In that context or the one that happened last game was totally different," Curry stated. "There was no play that happened. It was kind of like with A.I. and Pippen, it's usually somebody getting dunked on or somebody crossing somebody over and you see them. It's one of those situations where you just want to add insult to injury."
Was LeBron trying to bait Green into a violation so he could get suspended? Would he react the same way?
"I don't know what LeBron's intention was. Like I said, you have to ask him. Obviously Draymond thought it was disrespectful and wanted to get up and say something, so that was his reaction to it. I would have probably done the same thing."
Curry elaborated: "That's why I thought Draymond was reacting to that situation. It wasn't so much getting thrown down, it was he's trying to get up and somebody's straddling him on top. So it's like an awkward situation to be in. So that was his reaction. That's why I'm still kind of surprised that that was what the decision was."
On the idea of LeBron baiting Draymond, this was because James is aware of the "point system" that the NBA implements and Green is one flagrant foul away from a suspension. That was the explanation offered by Kiki Vandeweghe, NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations (h/t USA Today).
"Again, what's important is that this was - you look at this play on a standalone basis - other things were going on in the game, obviously - but this was viewed as a Flagrant One on its own," VandeWeghe said. "It wasn't that we suspended him, it was that it triggered the suspension. And so we have our rules and our point system is in place, everybody knows it. Draymond was on notice, certainly, and certainly after the last contact to the groin with Adams, so what's important I think is to understand that this was one point, it was viewed as a Flagrant One, and you can't make an exception. You have to do the right thing for the play."
