Kerr: 'Draymond's going to have to be very careful'

Some would say the Golden State Warriors dodged a bullet when the NBA ruled against suspending Draymond Green for his boot to Steven Adams' beans in Game 3 of the team's Western Conference final against the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, Warriors coach Steve Kerr knows Green isn't out of the woods.

Green was still retroactively hit with a flagrant-two foul for the play (it was initially ruled a flagrant-one), leaving him with three flagrant points in the postseason. Earn one more, and he'll receive an automatic one-game suspension.

"Obviously we accept the league's ruling," Kerr said at shootaround Tuesday, ahead of Game 4. "Draymond's going to have to be very careful - one flagrant-one, he's going to be suspended.

"But this is kind of what we expected. And now we move on."

For Green, avoiding another flagrant for the remainder of the playoffs - however long they last for the Warriors - could prove challenging, especially considering his physical style of play and excitability. Those attributes have helped form the backbone of the Warriors' identity, but Green may need to dial things down - at least on the physicality front - moving forward.

"Draymond's just … he's gotta understand the circumstances," Kerr said, when asked how the threat of a suspension might affect Green's play. "Which he does, and I'm sure he'll be fine."

Kerr was referring to Green's precarious foul situation, but the All-Star forward's play is no less concerning. On top of the low blow on Adams, Green delivered his worst game of the postseason in Game 3. He had just six points on 1-of-9 shooting, turned the ball over four times, and registered a ghastly minus-43 rating in 32 minutes.

The Warriors badly need him to bounce back. After winning an NBA-record 73 games this season, they now find themselves in a 2-1 hole, in danger of being pushed to the brink of elimination before even making the finals.