From his erratic leg kicks to his swing at LeBron James in the Finals last summer, Draymond Green has been involved in his fair share of controversial on-court incidents. Now, after Friday night’s game against the Houston Rockets, there’s another to add to the list.
Mid-way through the third quarter of the Warriors’ 107-98 victory over the Rockets, their second of the week, Green took a punch at James Harden’s wrist as the Rockets guard was playing defense. Adding to the controversy was the fact that Harden has been dealing with a much-publicized injury on that wrist.
After the game, Green wasn’t denying the act or playing it off as simply an attempt to create separation. He admitted to punching Harden, but says he did so only because the MVP candidate was pinching him. Via ESPN:
Green claimed he punched Harden’s wrist Friday because Harden was pinching him in the stomach area.
“He pinched me, so I punched his wrist,” Green said. “That’s pretty much it. He does it often actually, which is kind of adolescent, but whatever.”
Watching the replay of the incident, it does appear that Harden at least grabbed the jersey of Green, as you can see below.
This caused the Golden State forward to react by swinging his arm at Harden. Given the reflexive reaction from Green, it’s hard to imagine he was purposefully trying to inflict more damage on Harden’s injured wrist. Given his track record, however, it’s certainly understandable why that thought would cross some people’s minds.
Still, even if it wasn’t an intentional attempt to further injure an opponent, it was yet another case of Green going overboard with his physicality. It will be interesting to see how the league handles this latest incident.
