After flagrantly fouling Bandon Clarke – which stood as a flagrant 2 – in the Warriors’ Game 1 win over the Grizzlies yesterday, Draymond Green said he was concerned about flagrant-foul points in these playoffs.
Concerned enough to change anything?
Anthony Slater of The Athletic:
Draymond Green asked if the two flagrant points will alter his game at all
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 2, 2022
“If I take the bite out of the way I play, we go home early and the points don’t matter anyway.” pic.twitter.com/t9o4fC2wqF
Green:
Asked whether that takes a bite out of how he plays, Green:
Green is seemingly referring to a blowup he had at Warriors coach Steve Kerr during halftime of a 2016 game in Oklahoma City. Green yelled at Kerr, “I am not a robot!”
Undoubtedly, Green has been very successful because he plays with such passion. His approach to the game has helped him and his team far more than it has hurt.
But it has hurt. Multiple times. Including specifically for an accumulation of flagrant-foul points in a playoff run. Green is a very good player. Golden State needs him on the court.
It’d be an indictment of Green, 32, if he can’t harness his emotions enough to avoid more flagrant fouls when the consequences are so severe. Another flagrant 2 (or two flagrant 1s) would mean a one-game suspension with suspensions following for each additional flagrant foul.
But whatever defiance he expresses in a press conference today, Green deserves some benefit of the doubt that he’ll actually try harder to avoid flagrant fouls going forward. He’s not a fool.
