Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, who was suspended for Game Five of the NBA Finals, thinks the series would be over if he had played.
Monday night, the Golden State Warriors were just 48 minutes away from being crowned the back-to-back champs of the NBA before their Game Five showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thursday night, the Warriors will still be 48 minutes away as they prepare for Game Six in the series.
Along with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving blowing up for 41 points each in Cleveland’s 15-point win, the consensus from most is that Golden State lost because star forward Draymond Green was suspended for the game. Green was told to sit down by the league after getting another flagrant foul in Game Four with his kick to James that nearly started a riot.
When asked, Draymond Green thinks the Warriors would be planning a victory celebration and not heading to Cleveland if he had been playing, according to ESPN.com:
"“I have a strong belief that if I play in Game 5, we win. But I didn’t because I put myself in a situation where I wasn’t able to play.”"
While it’s more than likely true as the Warriors missed Green’s defense probably even more than his offense. But, like Draymond said, he didn’t play and we get another day of NBA Finals action.
Green would also take a subtle shot at the Cavaliers with Golden State one game away from the title:
"“We got an opportunity to do something that, I don’t know if it’s ever been done … where you win a championship on someone else’s floor two years in a row. We have that opportunity. It’s a fun one.”"
It seems as if the Warriors have become quite the trash talkers of late, so it’ll be fun to see what takes place Thursday night in Northeast Ohio.
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