Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals will, in all likelihood, be the most important playoff game the Warriors play this postseason. If they are able to beat the Thunder to pull into a 2-2 series lead with Oklahoma City, Golden State will once again become the favorite to advance to the 2016 NBA Finals. But if they lose? Well, their 73-win regular season could very well be all for naught, as it won’t be easy for the Warriors to recover from a 3-1 series deficit.
With that in mind, the fate of the Warriors’ season hung in the balance on Monday as a result of what Golden State’s all-purpose, All-Star player Draymond Green did on Sunday night. Green was involved in an altercation with Steven Adams that ended with him kicking the Thunder center in the groin for the second time in two games. And it ignited a heated debate on Monday over whether or not Green deserved to get suspended for a game for what he did. If you somehow haven’t seen the kick—or you still haven’t decided whether or not you think it was intentional—you can watch it here:
After carefully reviewing tape of the kick over and over (and over!) again and speaking with Golden State and Oklahoma City players and coaches, the NBA has decided that it will not suspend Green for Game 4 of the WCF series, according to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Green's foul has been upgraded to a flagrant 2 and he will be fined $25,000. Warriors fans are understandably relieved and looking forward to seeing Green on the court on Tuesday night for Game 4. But Thunder fans—and fans who want to see the Warriors lose—aren’t happy with the league’s decision to let Green off without a harsher punishment:
Here's the NBA press release on Green's foul, courtesy of The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears.
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