NBA Playoffs 2016

[walto]

Green suspended for game 5.

As predicted!

[The G Man]

Green suspended for game 5.

As predicted!

Not for the reason you gave. The league had no choice but to give him a Flagrant One when they determined from the replay that he made contact with LeBron's crotch.

Cleveland is a better tean than GS - Green but the home court more than makes up for that. GS won't be nearly as effective going small. I expect McAdoo to get more minutes but don't know what to expect from him.

Two days rest will help LeBron and Irving cope with major minutes and Curry and Thompson may have to play a little more.

[walto]

The league had no choice?! Hah. They do exactly what they want.

[The G Man]

Draymond Green as a defender in Finals:

LeBron James 5-of-14, 4 TOs
Kevin Love 5-of-13
Kyrie Irving 4-of-12

I heard that Green, who doesn't want to miss the game, is consulting with Bobby Valentine.

If GS loses the next three games, the suspension will be seen as the turning point. If Cleveland loses game five, it will hurt even worse for them.

GS opened -8, now -5.5, 68% chance to win the game.

[jon abbey]

wow, still 5 1/2 point favorites? that crowd will be insane tomorrow, especially after they clinched in CLE last season.

[SqDanceCallingSteve]

No love for LeBron out here, as he is seen as having instigated the whole business, some characterizing it as a semi-cheap trick (walking over Dray) to provoke an opponent. Not sure it was all that well thought out.

Draymond also in for reprimands locally, he knew what the situation was, he got himself into it; given his temperament, it may take a while for him learn to rein it in.

Refs should be suspended -- they allowed the game to get to the point where the foul boundary was receding, practically inviting disaster.

Draymond is not only banned from playing, he is banned from the building until the end of the game. Plans are being made for him to be moved quickly to the arena once the deed is done but before the trophy is awarded. It's a good thing Barnes is playing well at this point. They'll need somebody off the bench -- Mo, Barbosa, ? -- to rise to the occasion.

[Enforcer]

I don't usually call games, but I think the Cavs might take this one.

[SqDanceCallingSteve]

Multiple sources saying suspension resulted from direct pressure from LeBron and Cavs. Curious to see how this all plays out in the long run. This may be a hit from which LeBron never recovers in the eyes of many. Mo Speights to start things off.

I think the Dubs are going to be plenty pissed off and the Cavs will be done by halftime.

[walto]

I think Delly and/or JR are going to have remove at least one of the splash brothers by getting them to fight. Then Cleveland would have a real chance.

I mean if Iggy or Livingston doesn't go off.

[Captain Hate]

Multiple sources saying suspension resulted from direct pressure from LeBron and Cavs.

This has to be absolute nonsense. Admittedly LeBron was a prick to step over Draymond (and God knows what had gone on before that) and richly deserved a technical, but Draymond was extremely lucky to not having been suspended against OKC and had to know what he was operating under when he started to flail in response. This is a punishment from cumulative acts and anybody who is too fucking dumb to know that loses all credibility. So those multiple sources can all go fuck themselves.

Ironically Draymond being suspended against OKC probably would have been far less of an impact than against the Cavs. I honestly have no idea how this will play out. As I've said before I think the Warriors are a better team and this might motivate them to go into the Beast mode but maybe the Cavs will look at it as their last break and start playing like a fucking team again.

Guess we'll find out soon.

[walto]

No way to predict. If Curry and Thompson have the same kind of mediocre games they had early in the series, with no Green to help them, Cleveland will likely win. If those guards play and shoot the way they're capable of, GS can probably do without Green for one home game. But who the hell knows.

[walto]

Multiple sources saying suspension resulted from direct pressure from LeBron and Cavs.

This has to be absolute nonsense. Admittedly LeBron was a prick to step over Draymond (and God knows what had gone on before that) and richly deserved a technical, but Draymond was extremely lucky to not having been suspended against OKC and had to know what he was operating under when he started to flail in response. This is a punishment from cumulative acts

Maybe I'm jaded, but I still think that, at the back of the league's mind when they have to make a decision like this is:

What's best for US? I think everyone agrees that Cleveland is not going to win a game in Oakland without some help. If Green is gone, they might. How could that be bad for the league?--think of the additional millions in revenue--even from one more game! Plus it's nice for the Cleveland fans. And who's going to complain? The ball basher?--fuck him. Golden State fans? Should we really feel bad for THEM at this point?

Bounce him.

[The G Man]

Multiple sources saying suspension resulted from direct pressure from LeBron and Cavs.

This has to be absolute nonsense. Admittedly LeBron was a prick to step over Draymond (and God knows what had gone on before that) and richly deserved a technical, but Draymond was extremely lucky to not having been suspended against OKC and had to know what he was operating under when he started to flail in response. This is a punishment from cumulative acts and anybody who is too fucking dumb to know that loses all credibility. So those multiple sources can all go fuck themselves.

Ironically Draymond being suspended against OKC probably would have been far less of an impact than against the Cavs. I honestly have no idea how this will play out. As I've said before I think the Warriors are a better team and this might motivate them to go into the Beast mode but maybe the Cavs will look at it as their last break and start playing like a fucking team again.

Guess we'll find out soon.

I think you nailed it. Sure, the Cavs lobbied for a flagrant, and I'm sure the Dubs lobbied for no-flagrant. Complete nonsense, there. The league has established that contact with the crotch is a flagrant one at minimum and that's what Green received.

Refs should be suspended -- they allowed the game to get to the point where the foul boundary was receding, practically inviting disaster.

Agreed. Refs should do their best not to influence the game. When one crew allows much more contact than any other, they become a part of the game summary. It's wrong and it also invites technicals and flagrants.

[walto]

The league has established that contact with the crotch is a flagrant one at minimum and that's what Green received.

I think you're being naive. "The league" is people with interests. They call stuff sometimes and don't other times. I could hear them saying that the contact was both unintentional and more of a graze than a hit. They didn't WANT to do that, but of course they could have.

[The G Man]

The league has established that contact with the crotch is a flagrant one at minimum and that's what Green received.

I think you're being naive. "The league" is people with interests. They call stuff sometimes and don't other times. I could hear them saying that the contact was both unintentional and more of a graze than a hit. They didn't WANT to do that, but of course they could have.

Most NBA commentators that I've read thought the flagrant was the right call so I am puzzled why you are so confident that you are right. It's very clear from the video that the contact was intentional.

If Green hadn't been suspended, the idea that the league made a decision for the wrong reason would have had some merit.

[walto]

I'm not "sure I'm right": I'm just sure that it's a judgment call. I mean, Jesus, here's a Cleveland pundit who doesn't think there should have been a suspension:

http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index. ... nt_sh.html

[The G Man]

I'm not "sure I'm right": I'm just sure that it's a judgment call. I mean, Jesus, here's a Cleveland pundit who doesn't think there should have been a suspension:

http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index. ... nt_sh.html

That was a terrible article.

The author said Green wasn't suspended for a worse attack on Adams' groin so he shouldn't be suspended for the attack on James' groin.

1. The attack on Adams got him a flagrant 2.
2. The attack on LeBron got him a flagrant 1.

No, as CH Steve pointed out in an earlier post, he wasn't suspended for the action on LeBron. He was suspended for accumulating too many flagrant fouls.

[walto]

I'm not defending that article, and, if you remember, I thought they should have bounced Green when he kicked Adams in the balls the second time. My point is only that these are all judgment calls. That's just the nature of the beast. People disagree and the league does what it wants. I'd think that'd be obvious.

[Captain Hate]

Bud Shaw is almost a complete idiot; using him to bolster a point is rarely a good idea.

Having said that, Walter is correct that the league does what it wants for a number of reasons, not all of which most of us would agree with.

[SqDanceCallingSteve]

Most NBA commentators that I've read thought the flagrant was the right call

Geography may account for some of it, but we are clearly reading and listening to different NBA commentators.

Mo and Klay have been the most vocal and least nuanced, but the Dubs' players' respect for LeBron has plummeted in the wake of this incident and the way he's handled it. His post-game comments and his self-praise for his 'high-road' are subjects of scorn and mockery out here today. Draymond is the only Warrior still talking respect for The King.

The playoff flagrant that Draymond is being most criticized for was his first, in the closing seconds of a win over Houston he threw Michael Beasley to the ground. That was stupid, although probably satisfying.

If Cleveland plays as a team, they could win tonight's game. But the Dubs know how sweet it would be to take it tonight, at home, with Draymond at the A's game next door.