This is Draymond Green's fault.
That's the only accurate conclusion of the peril the Golden State Warriors now find themselves in, down 2-0 to the Sacramento Kings in their opening-round playoffs series, and suddenly facing a Game 3 without Green after Tuesday night's news he will be suspended for stomping on Domantas Sabonis.
So much hangs in the balance because of Green, not the least of which may be the Warriors' dynasty itself. A season on the brink -- the abysmal 11-30 road record, the creep of unease and age and injuries, the simmering tensions, all of that vulnerability despite the massive upside and talent now hyper-charged because one of this team's architects went into self-destruct mode. Again.
Green has always been the Warriors' heart and soul, but here we are again in a situation where his on-court passion has morphed into a force capable of devouring his own team.
It's besides the point whether or not Green deserved the one-game suspension the NBA handed down after he stepped on Sabonis' chest Monday night in the Warriors' Game 2 loss. What matters is that Green's past has endangered his team's future, and he -- not anyone else -- is to blame.
It was Green's actions toward LeBron James in the 2016 NBA Finals that led to a Game 5 suspension and, eventually, a historic comeback by the Cavs to defeat the Warriors. It's Green who punched his teammate, Jordan Poole, before this season began, disrupting the harmony and chemistry that's supposed to define the Warriors locker room.
And it's Green who stepped on Sabonis' chest, which now reportedly could keep Sabonis out of Game 3 as well. If it was an act of physical violence, Green is to blame. If it was a response to Sabonis' own antics of grabbing Green's leg, then Green got played -- which would also be his fault.
It's also Green who screamed at the Kings' crowd while the incident was under review and, once ejected, as headed to the locker room with a stone-faced NBA commissioner on hand in-person for it all.
Green's punishment is for his past as much as his present. The NBA said as much in its announcement that Green will miss Game 3 of the series on Thursday.
"The suspension," the NBA noted, "was based in part on Green's history of unsportsmanlike acts."
That's not Draymond Green getting picked on. That's Draymond Green thinking he's above the rules, and finding out that a podcast, a bunch of rings and a quick wit cannot protect you from yourself.
If the Warriors lose this series, which is an increasingly likely outcome, the blame will fall squarely on Green.
Steph Curry is this team's north star and best player, but dynasties always have more than one key figure. Green is inarguably one of them. They need him, even if, suddenly, his future contract demands look increasingly irrelevant.
When Green played this year, the Warriors won 56.2% of its games, according to StatMuse. That number plummeted to 33.3% when he was unavailable. He also led his team in blocks, assists and +/- this season.
Green is his team's ultimate wildcard, lifting them up on the floor while often tearing them down behind the scenes -- or, as with Monday's altercation, right before our eyes.
There is a notion that Green has been picked on in this saga, that he does not get the benefit of the doubt, that it's the NBA that has somehow been unfair. But in many ways the opposite is often true. Green is no victim here. He's a superstar who, with Pat Riley's "disease of more" spreading, has lost control of himself, his compass, and -- for the time being -- his ability to help his team.
Maybe that's in part because the media loves Green, myself included. He's smart. He's funny. He's cutting and candid and, most important, a remarkable basketball player whose work ethic and greatness mix into an interesting alchemy that is hard to measure but easy to see. He's a winner, a force, and NBA media love those things.
That love can cut down on the criticism that other athletes doing the same things would surely engender. Who wants to harshly criticize a beloved winner when he also has a podcast and media-savviness he'll readily deploy in his own defense?
Perhaps that bubble has contributed to the tone deafness that seems to accompany some of his actions, from the Poole punch to this Sabonis ugliness. Green tried, after Monday's game, to put the blame for stepping on Sabonis on Sabonis -- because, you know, it couldn't possibly be Draymond Green's fault for something Draymond Green did.
"My leg got grabbed -- the second time in two nights -- and the referee is just watching," he told the media. "I got to land my foot somewhere, and I'm not the most flexible person, so it's not stretching that far ... I can only step so far with someone pulling my leg away."
Ah, no.
Green punched his own teammate. He harangued Kevin Durant, perhaps hastening KD's departure. He's often overreacted to and bristled at criticism. He'll use his podcast to deflect commentary on his own mistakes and heap criticism on those who dare point out any of his shortcomings. He's all action but, lately, very little accountability.
But reality can only be bent only so far, especially in a playoff game with the world watching. And the facts are these: Draymond Green stepped on Domantas Sabonis, got ejected, and now has jeopardized his team's season with a suspension he rightly deserves.
It's deja vu all over again -- with Green, one of the game's great winners, failing in the battle to control himself. And it's his team, yet again, that may pay the price.
