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Izzo: Draymond Green feels he let franchise, city down

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Golden State Warriors had a golden (no pun intended) opportunity Monday night to clinch a second straight NBA championship, but without Draymond Green in the lineup, their efforts were rendered useless against a two-pronged attack from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Tom Izzo, Green's former head coach at Michigan State, has been in contact with the All-Star forward ever since he was issued his one-game suspension for his fourth flagrant-foul point of the postseason. During an appearance on ESPN's "Mike and Mike Show," Izzo said Green was distraught having to watch Game 5 and not suiting up for his side.

"That passion of feeling like he let his teammates down, his city down, his owner down," Izzo said, per the East Bay Times' Diamond Leung. "All those things were going through his mind."

Green received a flagrant-1 foul for striking James in the groin during Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena. League rules state that anyone who exceeds three flagrant-foul points in the playoffs will be handed down a one-game suspension, with every flagrant from that point onward resulting in more missed games.

Since he wasn't allowed inside Oracle Arena, Green caught the action in a suite at the Oakland Coliseum alongside Warriors general manager Bob Myers and former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.

"It was hard on him," Izzo added. "He said he'd rather give up a million dollars and fines than be held out. I think that tells you how important winning is to him."

Green will return to action Thursday in Game 6 to hopefully close out the series on the road and avoid blowing a 3-1 series lead. Considering his history, there's always a possibility of Green finding himself in a precarious situation and getting into trouble once again. If that's the case, Izzo hopes the basketball world doesn't negatively label his former pupil, but simply acknowledges that his zeal for the game sometimes gets the best of him.

"That's who he is. That's his DNA. He's not necessarily a street fighter. He's not a thug. He is a guy that plays with incredible passion, with incredible toughness," Izzo said. "Winning is important."

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