Kurtenbach: Draymond Green likely stamped the Warriors out of the
playoffs and himself out of the Bay
Golden State Warriors: A season that started with Draymond Green
punching a teammate looks poised to end with him being suspended for
stepping on an opponent.
>PORTLAND, OREGON – APRIL 09: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State
Warriors reacts during the second quarter against the Portland Trail
Blazers at Moda Center on April 09, 2023 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO
USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or
using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of
the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: April 18, 2023 at 10:09 p.m. | UPDATED: April 18, 2023 at
10:33 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/04/18/kurtenbach-draymond-green-likely-stomped-the-warriors-out-of-the-playoffs-and-himself-out-of-the-bay/

Maybe the Warriors will rally.

Perhaps this will catalyze the Dubs to start playing winning basketball
again.

This might just be a quirky footnote to history.

But in all likelihood, a Warriors’ season that started with Draymond
Green punching a teammate will end in the coming days because Green
decided to unnecessarily stomp on an opponent.

Oh, and Green likely stamped himself a ticket out of the Bay with his
outburst, too.

[video: Draymond ejected after stepping on Sabonis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koHXg0PlYq8]

The NBA announced Tuesday night that it was suspending Green for Game 3
of the Warriors’ first-round playoff series for stepping on Kings center
Domantas Sabonis’s chest in Monday’s Game 2.

The stomping of Sabonis resulted in Green being ejected for the final
seven minutes of that game, which the Warriors lost to fall behind 2-0
in the series.

Now, it will include 48 minutes of the Warriors’ biggest game of the season.

The NBA isn’t suspending Green for the action itself. No, they’re
suspending him for his reputation. They said as much in an announcement
Tuesday:

“The suspension was based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike
acts.”

Is that just?

Probably not. It seems excessive to me.

But is it surprising? Absolutely not.

>SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 17: NBA commissioner Adam Silver
watches the review of the play between Draymond Green #23 of the Golden
State Warriors and Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings in the
second half during Game Two of the Western Conference First Round
Playoffs at Golden 1 Center on April 17, 2023 in Sacramento. Green was
ejected on the play. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Green long ago lost the benefit of the doubt when it comes to situations
like this. And because of that, the Warriors are facing a real threat of
losing this first-round series in an embarrassing, unbecoming fashion.

Green hasn’t been at his best in the first two games of these playoffs,
but his defense is still critical to the Dubs winning games. Without
him, the Warriors’ already sub-par defense will likely slide further.
Even if there is an offensive boost from Green’s absence, it will not be
a net positive.

In short: Green let down his team. Yes, he acted in the heat of the
moment, and no, Sabonis wasn’t some innocent bystander, as he was
grabbing onto Green’s legs. But the Warriors’ forward overtly crossed
the line with his actions.

Green’s a whip-smart smart guy on and off the court. Surely he must know
that — for him — anything that’s hard is flagrant, anything that’s
flagrant is ejectable, and anything ejectable is suspendable.

And yet Monday night, he opted to put his full body weight on Sabonis’
chest and did a little heel click after he used it as a trampoline.

Did Green think he could talk himself out of this? Did he expect the
referees or the league would say, “You know what? Draymond is right.”

Green is one of the greatest defenders in the game’s history, a
transformative figure in the story of professional basketball, but this
is him reaping what he had sown.

And now the shorthanded Warriors must find a way to win on Thursday.

If they don’t, this Green stamp and suspension will define this series.
It will be the catalyst for the change in the Bay.

>Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green (23) leaves the game after being
ejected for a flagrant foul against Sacramento Kings' Domantas Sabonis
(10) in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the Western Conference First
Round playoffs, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday,
April 17, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

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Green, 33, has a player option to play next year for the Warriors. At
this point, he might be wise to take it. But the expectation before
Tuesday was that he would opt out and search for a long-term deal —
likely his last in the NBA.

But if Golden State loses this series, whether that loss comes in four
or seven games, the cost-cutting Dubs will not be the team that signs
Green to that deal. I’m unsure who would, given how Green has played in
this series and last year’s postseason.

Green was a one-of-a-kind winner. He was a one-of-a-kind pain in the
butt, too. The first fact used to far outweigh the latter. I’m not sure
it does anymore.

I want to think that this isn’t how a legend should exit, but it’s all
too fitting for Green, who straddled the line between harm and help for
a decade.

He crossed that line, again, on Monday.

And he might have ended two extraordinary things — his Warriors’ career
and the dynasty he led — in the process.

Questions, comments, or criticisms that demand answers?

Email Dieter, and you could be featured in his next mailbag.

--
Dieter Kurtenbach | Sports Columnist
Sports columnist Dieter Kurtenbach analyzes the amazing and roasts the
absurd in the world of sports for the Bay Area News Group. He was
previously a national sports columnist for Fox Sports and a staff writer
at the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can also be heard on KNBR
(104.5-FM, 680-AM). He graduated from the University of Missouri in
Columbia, Mo., with a BA degree in journalism.