Draymond Green plays a physical, contentious, and downright nasty brand of basketball. But that doesn’t mean he plays dirty, a notion the Golden State Warriors forward was quick to confirm after his team’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.
The basketball twitterverse was ready to come at Green with pitchforks following a possession in the second quarter of Game 2. As a masked Mike Conley – still recovering from surgery to repair facial fractures, remember – fell to the floor while driving, Green grabbed at the ball as the Grizzlies point guard called timeout, striking him in the face.
Obviously, Zach Randolph didn’t consider the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up’s play malicious. And after the former Michigan State Spartans talked it out on the court, both players stressed no intent whatsoever to the media.
Draymond Green says he would never intentionally hurt anyone and calls out the "keyboard warriors" out there on Twitter.
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) May 6, 2015
Draymond Green: "Just bc the guy has a mask on his face doesn't change the fact that you go after the ball."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) May 6, 2015
Zach Randolph to Draymond Green: "You're trying to hurt my guard?" Green: "Nah." Randolph: "He said he ain't do it on purpose."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) May 6, 2015
Zach Randolph: "I believed (Draymond Green) because Michigan State. That's true. He's a Spartan. Hahaha."
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) May 6, 2015
Allegiance makes it easy for people to fall on either of this debate, of course. Warriors faithful no doubt believe Green was simply going after the ball, while Grizzlies followers are surely convinced he took advantage of a grey area to exacerbate a player’s existing injury. Almost as telling Randolph’s absolution, though, is that the officials reviewed the incident and deemed no foul play was involved.
There’s no way to tell for certain whether or not Green intentionally hit Conley, but the immediate and subsequent reactions from involved parties definitely eliminates most suspicion. Don’t tell that to Memphis fans, though. As Tony Allen has become a super villain for Golden State, Green has for the gritters and grinders.
Just call it another dramatic wrinkle to a series that suddenly looks like it will live up to the hype of these teams’ awesome play over the regular season’s first half. Are you excited for Friday’s Game 3? Us too.
