Report: Warriors have growing concern Green will be suspended for Game 5
The Golden State Warriors may have to try close out their second straight NBA title Monday night without their emotional leader on the floor.
The NBA has reviewed the confrontation between Draymond Green and LeBron James from Game 4 of The Finals on Friday, and the Warriors are increasingly concerned the league will suspend Green for Game 5, reports Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, citing a source.
During the incident, in which James stepped over a fallen Green in a manner Green called "disrespectful," Green appeared to hit James in the groin, the latest in what's become a disconcertingly long line of such shots from the Warriors forward this postseason.
As it stands, Green is has three flagrant points in the playoffs, one shy of receiving an automatic one-game suspension, with each subsequent point after that resulting in an additional game. In other words, if Green is retroactively given a flagrant 1 for his involvement in the incident, he'll be suspended for Game 5. If he's given a flagrant 2, he'll have to sit out Game 5 and a potential Game 6.
The NBA established a precedent for this after Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, when they retroactively hit Green with a flagrant 2 for his kick to the nether regions of Oklahoma City Thunder big man Steven Adams.
Those involved in the James-Green incident were interviewed Saturday night, and a decision could reportedly come from the league on Sunday.