SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green will miss Game Three against the Sacramento Kings as the NBA suspended the Golden State Warriors forward following an on-court incident in which Sabonis stepped on Kings forward Domantas Sabonis and clashed with Kings fans courtside while the referees reviewed the play.
The NBA also noted it considered past incidents when punishing Green.
In a bonus edition of the Locked On Warriors podcast, host Cyrus Saatsaz was joined by guest Eric Price to discuss the suspension and its fairness.
“To involve yourselves in the game of basketball with this suspension … it’s utter insanity,” Saatsaz said of the unprecedented move.
At the same time, Sabonis, who could be seen with his arms around Green’s feet before Green stepped onto him, received the lesser punishment during the game with a Flagrant One compared with Green’s Flagrant Two, and Sabonis was not suspended.
“What Sabonis did was egregious,” Price said. “There were multiple different acts that had nothing to do with basketball.”
Green is known for playing the game with a high level of emotion that has boiled over at times, including most notably during Game Four of the 2016 NBA Finals, when he received a foul that caused him to miss Game Five of a series the Warriors ultimately lost.
“He just happens to be a little bit different than a lot of other people, and when he plays basketball, he just wears his heart on his sleeve,” Saatsaz said. “It doesn’t mean that he should be punished for it, and [in Game Three] he was instigated.”
Without Green, the Warriors remain favorites at home against Sacramento, but a loss would all but seal the series in the Kings’ favor.
“This is a dynasty that the Golden State Warriors have, and now you’re taking away an integral part, with the NBA inserting itself into the series,” Price said.
Game Three tips off at 10:00 p.m. ET on Thursday.