Amid all the drama of the Warriors’ comeback to win the Western Conference Finals, there was one storyline that was low-key terrifying to Warriors fans the whole time: Would Draymond Green pick up another flagrant foul and the automatic suspension that comes with it? After successive kicks to the groin of Steven Adams that took him to the disciplinary brink in Games 3 and 4, Green kept his head to keep the Warriors in the series, but now there’s a chance that one moment in Game 7 could trigger a suspension in the Finals.
The above tangle between Adams and Green, who are essentially Iron Man and Captain America, because they fight so much without hating each other, could be Draymond’s undoing in the Finals.
NBA will review the Draymond Green play with Steven Adams.
— RealGM (@RealGM) May 31, 2016
That after-the-play review is how Green’s initial Flagrant 1 for the Adams kick was upgraded to a Flagrant 2, the split-the-difference penalty that got fans mad about a conspiracy to keep Draymond on the court (or, “business as usual” in the NBA). The above play has even less obvious intent, as when arms get tangled under the basket it’s near impossible to determine who’s leveraging whom more. In this case, however, it sure looks like Draymond yanked down on Adams’ arm with all his might. Remember, all he needs is a Flagrant 1 and he’d be automatically suspended for at least Game 1 of the Finals.
