In perhaps a surprising decision, Draymond Green was ejected from Game 1 of the Warriors-Grizzles playoff series after grabbing ahold of Brandon Clarke’s jersey.
Draymond Green will not get his wish.
Green's controversial Flagrant 2 foul in the Warriors' 117-116 Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies will not be reduced to a Flagrant 1, The Athletic's Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported Monday, citing sources.
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This is a significant development because Green now has two flagrant points, with four equaling a one-game suspension in the playoffs. If it had been reduced to a Flagrant 1 foul, Green would only have one point and much more breathing room before receiving a one-game ban.
Green knows better than anyone how this could potentially change the tenor of a postseason series, as he was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals after accumulating four flagrant points throughout the playoff run. The Warriors infamously blew a three-games-to-one lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers after the Cavs took Game 5 at Oracle Arena with Green not in the building.
“My biggest worry moving forward is that gives me two flagrant foul points, and as we know I've been ejected for accumulation of flagrant foul points,” Green said Sunday night on "The Draymond Green Show." “So I'm hoping that the right thing will happen, and that it will at least get rescinded to a Flagrant 1.”
At the end of the podcast, Green updated his statement to: “I’m looking forward to it getting rescinded.”
The play in question occurred late in the second quarter of Sunday's Western Conference semifinals game at FedExForum, with Green delivering a hard foul on Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke. Green was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected from the game.
Head referee Kane Fitzgerald explained in a pool report why Green was given a Flagrant 2:
"The first part was the wind-up and significant contact to the face, and then the pull down from the jersey grab and throw down to the floor to an airborne vulnerable player makes that unnecessary and excessive. That’s what led to the flagrant foul penalty two," Fitzgerald said.
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As Green's all-world defensive tenacity can sometimes result in such hard -- and borderline -- fouls, he'll have to be extra careful for the rest of the playoffs in order to stay on the floor for the Warriors.
