Game 5 of the NBA Finals was an instant classic, with Jimmy Butler and LeBron James each putting up incredible performances as the Heat came away with a 111-108 win to push the Lakers to Game 6.
Down the stretch, both James and Butler made play after play for their teams, trading the lead back-and-forth, with Butler handing Miami a 109-108 lead with around 16 seconds to play. This meant the Lakers had time to draw up a play of their own, and what they dialed up got the ball to James to get him moving downhill and take advantage of the fact that the Heat would collapse on him to make anyone else beat him. The result was a Danny Green three that was very open from the top of the key, even factoring in an aggressive, but somewhat late, closeout from the weakside.
Green’s shot came up short, barely drawing the front of the rim. From there, Markieff Morris grabbed the rebound and then threw something between a pass and a shot over the head of Anthony Davis and out of bounds, allowing the Heat to knock down a pair of free throws and put the game on ice. It was certainly not the way Green, Morris, LeBron, or Frank Vogel envisioned the close of the game, but they got a good look and simply missed it. However, as happens all too often, Green became a target for angry Lakers fans, as his offensive play this postseason has not been as good as his reputation as a big game shooter over his career has given him.
On Sunday, as the Lakers spoke to the media in the morning prior to Game 6, Green explained that he and his fiancee both received death threats on social media since he missed the shot.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1315325683640528896
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1315318178008842241
It is the unfortunate reality of the social media era that players who make a key mistake not only have to hear criticism, but also have to deal with fans that go way too far and wish death and other horrible things upon them and their family members. As Green said, he understands he’s and easy target here for criticism after his miss, but it doesn’t change that it’s despicable to levy death threats at someone and their family members over a basketball game.
Green says he’s learned to just avoid social media after losses like Friday’s while a member of the Lakers. Frustration from fans is understandable, including some anger in the moment, but to have it be anything to the level of death threats or wishing harm on a person is so far beyond what should be acceptable.
