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Warriors' Stephen Curry Jokes Draymond Green's Ejection Being Upheld Was 'Shocking'
May 2, 2022
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry isn't surprised that the NBA decided against downgrading Dubs forward Draymond Green's flagrant-2 foul Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies down to a flagrant-1.
"Shocking," Curry sarcastically responded when asked about it Monday, adding:
"I don't know what the explanation was, it doesn't really matter in terms of how we feel about it. Good thing about what we do—and hopefully what Draymond can do—is just put it behind him, continue to be himself, play his game, impact the game like he knows how to do, but it's obviously not shocking."
Green was assessed a flagrant-2 and subsequently ejected from the game for this foul on Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke with just over one minute remaining in the first half of the Warriors' 117-116 win over Memphis in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Green posted six points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 17 minutes before exiting.
As Madeline Kenney of the Mercury News noted, players who get four flagrant foul points in the postseason must serve an automatic one-game suspension. A flagrant-2 is worth two points, while a flagrant-1 is worth one point. That means another flagrant-2 would end up resulting in a suspension for Green.
The forward felt the effect of that point system when he was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The Warriors lost that game and eventually blew a 3-1 series lead against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Green clearly wasn't thrilled with the decision and said it was a "reputation thing."
He also spoke about the decision on his podcast:
Referee Kane Fitzgerald, who made the initial flagrant-2 call, provided his reasoning in a postgame pool report.
The Warriors ended up winning the game despite losing Green for the final 25 minutes. They are up 1-0 in the best-of-seven series and will play in Memphis for Game 2 on Tuesday evening at 9:30 p.m. ET.