If you ask most fans, analysts, and experts, Draymond Green’s ejection from Sunday’s game against Memphis was undeserved. Despite his history as a gritty and borderline dirty player, a lot of people agree that his foul on Brandon Clarke was a bit overplayed by the officials.
On ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’ however, Kendrick Perkings wasn’t so quick to let Draymond and his team off the hook. Here’s what he said:
“As a guy who’s been through this and got suspended a lot, and led the playoffs in technical fouls year after year after year, you are mindful. And Draymond is no dummy. He has a high IQ so he knows what he’s doing and he knows what to do and what not to do. The only problem that I have with the Warriors is why are they trying to act like they’re the victims here? They’re not the victims. Draymond Green committed a flagrant 2 foul. This goes back to the point when Marcus Smart dove for the loose ball and Steve Kerr had a panic attack and he was so frustrated on the sideline claiming that Marcus Smart did it on purpose. All of a sudden you get to this moment and all of a sudden they wanna cry wolf. Nobody wants to hold Golden State accountable, nobody!”
.@KendrickPerkins doesn't hold back on the Warriors 😳
"Why [the Warriors] trying to act like they're the victims here. … Nobody wants to hold Golden State accountable, nobody!" pic.twitter.com/D33bAvlhv5
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 2, 2022
The moment being referenced in the clip goes back to mid-March when Steve Kerr went haywire on the sidelines after Marcus Smart dove for a loose ball and landed on Curry’s ankle.
During the game, Marcus Smart was trying to battle for the ball against Stephen Curry. In a pretty scary moment, Smart’s body landed on Curry’s ankle while he was moving, which caused Curry to roll his ankle.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confronted Marcus Smart during the game over his role in Stephen Curry rolling his ankle. The two sides seemed to share some heated words, as Kerr was trying to hold Smart accountable, whereas Smart maintained his innocence over the situation. Kerr and Smart were not seeing eye to eye at all during their interaction.
Draymond left Game 1 with only 6 points on the night, but the Warriors somehow still came out on top in a close match.
Fortunately, the flagrant will not have any further impact on the series, as no suspensions have resulted from the ordeal. Still, instead of blaming the referees for being “soft,” perhaps we should blame Draymond for not playing smarter during an important playoff game.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen again.
