This is Draymond Green’s fault.
That’s the one correct conclusion of the peril the Golden State Warriors now discover themselves in, down 2-0 to the Sacramento Kings of their opening-round playoffs sequence, and abruptly going through a Game 3 with out Green after Tuesday night time’s information he will probably be suspended for stomping on Domantas Sabonis.
So a lot hangs within the stability due to Green, not the least of which stands out as the Warriors’ dynasty itself. A season on the brink — the abysmal 11-30 highway file, the creep of unease and age and accidents, the simmering tensions, all of that vulnerability regardless of the large upside and expertise now hyper-charged as a result of considered one of this staff’s architects went into self-destruct mode. Again.
Green has all the time been the Warriors’ coronary heart and soul, however right here we’re once more in a scenario the place his on-court ardour has morphed right into a pressure able to devouring his personal staff.
It’s apart from the purpose whether or not or not Green deserved the one-game suspension the NBA handed down after he stepped on Sabonis’ chest Monday night time within the Warriors’ Game 2 loss. What issues is that Green’s previous has endangered his staff’s future, and he — not anybody else — is responsible.
It was Green’s actions towards LeBron James within the 2016 NBA Finals that led to a Game 5 suspension and, finally, a historic comeback by the Cavs to defeat the Warriors. It’s Green who punched his teammate, Jordan Poole, earlier than this season started, disrupting the concord and chemistry that is alleged to outline the Warriors locker room.
And it is Green who stepped on Sabonis’ chest, which now reportedly might preserve Sabonis out of Game 3 as nicely. If it was an act of bodily violence, Green is responsible. If it was a response to Sabonis’ personal antics of grabbing Green’s leg, then Green received performed — which might even be his fault.
It’s additionally Green who screamed on the Kings’ crowd whereas the incident was below evaluate and, as soon as ejected, as headed to the locker room with a stone-faced NBA commissioner available in-person for all of it.
Green’s punishment is for his previous as a lot as his current. The NBA stated as a lot in its announcement that Green will miss Game 3 of the sequence on Thursday.
“The suspension,” the NBA famous, “was based mostly partially on Green’s historical past of unsportsmanlike acts.”
That’s not Draymond Green getting picked on. That’s Draymond Green pondering he is above the principles, and discovering out {that a} podcast, a bunch of rings and a fast wit can’t shield you from your self.
If the Warriors lose this sequence, which is an more and more possible end result, the blame will fall squarely on Green.
Steph Curry is that this staff’s north star and finest participant, however dynasties all the time have multiple key determine. Green is inarguably considered one of them. They want him, even when, abruptly, his future contract calls for look more and more irrelevant.
When Green performed this 12 months, the Warriors received 56.2% of its video games, in accordance with StatMuse. That quantity plummeted to 33.3% when he was unavailable. He additionally led his staff in blocks, assists and +/- this season.
Green is his staff’s final wildcard, lifting them up on the ground whereas typically tearing them down behind the scenes — or, as with Monday’s altercation, proper earlier than our eyes.
There is a notion that Green has been picked on on this saga, that he doesn’t get the advantage of the doubt, that it is the NBA that has someway been unfair. But in some ways the alternative is usually true. Green is not any sufferer right here. He’s a famous person who, with Pat Riley’s “illness of extra” spreading, has misplaced management of himself, his compass, and — in the meanwhile — his means to assist his staff.
Maybe that is partially as a result of the media loves Green, myself included. He’s sensible. He’s humorous. He’s reducing and candid and, most vital, a outstanding basketball participant whose work ethic and greatness combine into an attention-grabbing alchemy that’s exhausting to measure however simple to see. He’s a winner, a pressure, and NBA media love these issues.
That love can reduce down on the criticism that different athletes doing the identical issues would certainly engender. Who needs to harshly criticize a beloved winner when he additionally has a podcast and media-savviness he’ll readily deploy in his personal protection?
Perhaps that bubble has contributed to the tone deafness that appears to accompany a few of his actions, from the Poole punch to this Sabonis ugliness. Green tried, after Monday’s sport, to place the blame for stepping on Sabonis on Sabonis — as a result of, you realize, it could not probably be Draymond Green’s fault for one thing Draymond Green did.
“My leg received grabbed — the second time in two nights — and the referee is simply watching,” he informed the media. “I received to land my foot someplace, and I’m not probably the most versatile particular person, so it is not stretching that far … I can solely step up to now with somebody pulling my leg away.”
Ah, no.
Green punched his personal teammate. He harangued Kevin Durant, maybe hastening KD’s departure. He’s typically overreacted to and bristled at criticism. He’ll use his podcast to deflect commentary on his personal errors and heap criticism on those that dare level out any of his shortcomings. He’s all motion however, currently, little or no accountability.
But actuality can solely be bent solely up to now, particularly in a playoff sport with the world watching. And the details are these: Draymond Green stepped on Domantas Sabonis, received ejected, and now has jeopardized his staff’s season with a suspension he rightly deserves.
It’s deja vu over again — with Green, one of many sport’s nice winners, failing within the battle to regulate himself. And it is his staff, but once more, which will pay the worth.
