When Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, there was no shortage of outrage. There were conspiracy theories. The Golden State Warriors were not thrilled that the Cleveland Cavaliers lobbied for it. This was the heart and soul of the Warriors, the guy who holds them together on both ends, their plus-minus megastar, and they had a chance to clinch a second straight title.
Imagine if he was suspended for two games.
According to ESPN's Zach Lowe, that is the outcome the Cavs pushed for.
"I'll tell you, the Cavs wanted him suspended for two games," Lowe said on The Lowe Post podcast (6:38). "I can tell you that. They wanted it to be a flagrant-2 and to have him suspended for Game 5 and Game 6."
All of that noise about the suspension would have been 10 times louder if Green was out for two games, and rightfully so. A one-game suspension is series-changing, anyway, and if the play that triggered the suspension -- a "retaliatory swipe of his hand to the groin" of LeBron James -- was a borderline flagrant foul.
There will continue to be debate about whether or not the league got it right, especially if the Cavaliers force a Game 7. If it had given Green a flagrant-2, however, it would have been extremely wrong.
(HT: PBT)
