To the surprise of no one, Draymond Green had some thoughts on his ejection in the Warriors’ 114-106 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. It put Golden State in the first 2-0 hole in a series since the We Believe team in 2007.
He did not concur with officials’ assessment that led to him being ejected on a Flagrant 2 call after initially being given a technical foul. Domantas Sabonis, who grabbed Green’s ankle, then was stomped on by Green, receiving a Flagrant 1.
His defense was that his leg had to land “somewhere.”
“My leg got grabbed,” Green said. “Second time in two nights. Referees just watched it. I gotta land my foot somewhere and I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far… I can only step so far and [he’s] pulling my leg away. So it is what it is.”
Green said lead official Zach Zarba told him he was ejected because he “stomped too hard.”
He, of course, threw some shade in Sabonis’ direction when asked about the force of the stomp, and whether he was surprised that Sabonis stayed down for an extended period of time.
“No, I wasn’t surprised that he stayed down that long,” Green said.
The obvious implication there is that Green may not think Sabonis was in as much pain as he indicated.
Kings head coach Mike Brown had some intriguing comments after the game. He implied that Sabonis was in serious pain after the game and that the league should review the play to potentially suspend Green going forward.
The stark difference between Green and Brown’s assessments is comical.
Stephen Curry didn’t seem to think the grab was severe. He also implied that Sabonis — who Adrian Wojnarowski reported is undergoing X-Rays on his chest and lungs — may have exaggerated the extent of his injuries.
“I know [Sabonis] grabbed his foot and I don’t know what you’re supposed to do in that situation,” Curry said. “He obviously finished the game. So I know he’s a tough guy, but I’m sure he’s gonna be fine.”
The other time Green said he was grabbed in the series was by Malik Monk in the series opener. He suggested the referees are alright with players having their ankles grabbed.
“Monk last game, right on the baseline under the rim,” Green said. So, either you’re gonna stop it. [Referee] John Goble was looking at Monk hold my leg the last game and just let it go. And Zach [Zarba] clearly was watching my leg get held this game and let it go. So I guess ankle grabbing is okay.”
Klay Thompson called Sabonis’ instigation of the incident “dirty,” both indicating he didn’t condone what Green did but that he didn’t have many options.
“I mean, what are you gonna do when someone grabs your foot when you’re running full speed? That’s a dirty — just fully grabs your foot and yanks on you? That’s not cool, man,” Thompson said. “I’m not saying what Draymond did was right, but like, you can’t just grab somebody’s foot when they’re taking off in a full sprint. That’s not cool. I don’t do that. I mean, that’s crazy.”
The series will shift back to San Francisco on Thursday, where the proceedings should show no signs of returning to normalcy.