Shaquille O’Neal shared his two cents on the controversial moment between Draymond Green and Domantas Sabonis during Game 2 of the playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.
“I’d have done the same thing. I really would,” Shaq said on NBA on TNT, supporting Green. “Don’t be grabbing me because what am I going to do? If I stay there and just try to run forward, I’ll fall. You got to get him up off you. And if you are in the way, you might get stomped on.”
“Was it a dirty play? Of course, it was a dirty play. But, hey, don’t grab me and this won’t happen.”
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1648197219907145730
There was a counter coming in from fellow host Charles Barkley: “Why don’t you lay on the ground and I’ll see if I can stomp you?”
While it was surely a good quip, Shaq had his reasons behind it. A former center himself understood that grabbing a player, presumably to take him down, would mean some reaction from the end.
Green alluded to being grabbed. “My leg got grabbed. Second time in two nights,” he said. “Referees just watch it. I gotta land my foot somewhere and I am not the most flexible person, so I can’t stretch it that far… I can only step so far with him pulling my leg away, it is what it is. The explanation was that I stomped too hard… I wasn’t surprised that he stayed down.”
Shaq joins a select few who defended Green’s actions. Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson were some notable names who came to the forward’s aid.
Draymond Green Defends His Actions Later On Instagram
Soon after the game, Green went on social media and shared a story on Instagram saying that he was right in what he did. “Nothing wrong here. Solid basketball play!!!” he wrote.
Sabonis hit the floor at the Golden 1 Center when he fought for a loose rebound. His arms tangled up with Green’s right leg, and the veteran stomped his right leg on the Kings player’s chest, resulting in the refs issuing a Flagrant 2 foul. Green was subsequently ejected from the game.
The controversy wasn’t the only thing that stung the Warriors. They went down 114-106 and are now 0-2. They also face the possibility of playing their next game at home without Green, as it’s yet to be confirmed if the league will suspend him for a game for his actions.
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