CLEVELAND — Draymond Green and LeBron James have been going at it all Finals long. With Game 4 — and possibly the series — on the line, that ratcheted up as the game went on Friday night.
And it included another shot to a guy’s groin by Green.
The play came with just fewer than three minutes to go in the game and the outcome still in doubt. As they pushed trying to get position on a pick, Green went to the ground, and LeBron decided to make a point by stepping over Green. Green tried to push him off.
In doing so, Green hit James between the legs.
Here’s a better view of the incident.
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
“You know, like I said, as a competitor, I love going against Draymond, and I’m all about going out there and leaving it out on the floor,” LeBron said after the game. “But when it gets a little bit more than what it should be, that’s what caused me to have words with him.”
You can bet the league will take a look at this. There was a lot of contact both ways in the run up, but Green clearly makes contact down low, and that’s not a flailing leg this time. That is a suspendable offense.
If they upgrade this to a flagrant foul, Green will be suspended for at least one game (one for a Flagrant 1, two for a Flagrant 2). If the league just gives him a technical foul, he would play in Game 5 Monday.