On Thursday night, the Warriors will host the Kings in a critical Game 3 and will need to find their first win in the series without the services of Draymond Green, who will be serving a one-game suspension for stomping Domantas Sabonis in the chest late in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Green was suspended in large part due to his history of on-court shenanigans, even though this incident was sparked by Sabonis grabbing his ankle (earning a technical for his part).
In the early game on Thursday, we saw another star big man get too aggressive with his feet in retaliation at an opponent, when Joel Embiid kicked Nic Claxton between the legs as the Nets center stepped over Embiid after a dunk.
Hooooo boy, Sixers-Nets already getting spicy in Game 3 👀😳 pic.twitter.com/4KWf7USwbN
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 20, 2023
Embiid, however, was only assessed a Flagrant 1 for his kick, allowing the star center to stay in the game. At halftime, the Inside the NBA crew debated whether that play was adjudicated correctly, with Kenny Smith rather hilariously saying you couldn’t determine the intent of Embiid, while Shaq said he thought it was the same level as what Draymond did — but didn’t want to advocate for an ejection. That’s when Barkley stepped in and said what Shaq wouldn’t, going as far as saying he thought Embiid’s kick was worse than Green’s stomp.
Chuck: “I think his was worse than Draymond’s, to be honest with you. … I thought he should have got ejected.”
The Inside Guys react to Embiid’s Flagrant 1 pic.twitter.com/8OsyLU3Nsx
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 21, 2023
“I thought he should’ve been ejected,” Barkley said. “I thought it was a Flagrant 2. I think his was worse than Draymond’s. He tried to kick a guy in the junk.”
Shaq appreciated the backup, with Barkley noting what many pointed out which was, while the end result wasn’t as painful for Claxton as it was for Sabonis, there wasn’t even plausible deniability for Embiid as to what he was doing. Green’s entire argument was he got grabbed and had to step somewhere — even though it’s pretty evident he put something extra into his stomp. Embiid was laying on his back and kicks up, which makes it pretty obvious what the intent was, in spite of Kenny Smith trying to look the other way.
The biggest issue for fans (and surely Green) is how two very similar situations were adjudicated so much differently, particularly when you consider Green got a suspension on top of an ejection.
