The Warriors won Game 3 against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday without Draymond Green, and the veteran forward knows at the end of the day, that's all that matters.
But that didn't stop Green from weighing in on the NBA's decision to suspend him for one game following his on-court dustup with Kings big man Domantas Sabonis in Game 2, and the four-time champion believes Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said it best.
"... I think my feelings about it [are] irrelevant. My sentiments on it, I strongly agree with Doc Rivers," Green told reporters Saturday. "I think he said it better than anybody could have said it, but as far as being suspended or the game goes, we won. So, anything that happened around that or how I felt or how anyone felt, we channeled it the right way."
Green was suspended for Game 3 after stomping on Sabonis' chest in Game 2. Rivers weighed in on the situation Friday, after Sixers stars Joel Embiid and James Harden received Flagrant 1 and Flagrant 2 fouls, respectively, against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
“Listen, I’m going to say this -- and I probably shouldn’t -- I didn’t think Draymond should’ve gotten suspended and I think the league is setting up a very dangerous precedent right now," Rivers told reporters ahead of a team film session. “And this is not me campaigning, all right? And I’m dead serious. … If we’re going to start punishing the retaliators and not the instigators, then we’ve got a problem in this league.”
In Game 2, Green stomped on Sabonis after the Kings center appeared to grab onto the former's leg as he went to join his Warriors teammates in transition.
Golden State Warriors
“My leg got grabbed,” Green told reporters after Game 2. “Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I’ve got to land my foot somewhere. And I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far.”
Rivers went on to say he is "100 percent pro-player" and doesn't believe in advocating for ejections or suspensions -- a response to Nets coach Jacque Vaughn's frustration that Embiid wasn't ejected for his flagrant foul after kicking Brooklyn center Nic Claxton on Thursday. Rivers also disagreed with the NBA's decision to consider Green's past actions when deciding to suspend him.
"We talk all year about fans not being happy about guys not playing, and now we’re taking guys out of the playoffs," Rivers continued. "... [NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars] was saying with Draymond that the past -- no. You should’ve done something then. This is now. But on top of that, Draymond Green stepped on [Sabonis’] chest because he was holding his foot. The instigator was holding his foot.”
It's clear both Green and Rivers view the NBA's discipline process as subjective, but the Warriors were able to overcome their star defender's suspension with a 114-97 win over the Kings in Game 3 and avoid a three-games-to-none deficit in the process.
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With Sacramento still holding a two-games-to-one advantage ahead of Game 4 at Chase Center on Sunday, Green expects Golden State to respond in similar fashion to Thursday's win.
"You channel that energy the right way, I think that’s the most important thing," Green said. "A lot of credit to my teammates -- like I said, just handling that [suspension] news and adversity and standing on it, you know. We pride ourselves on not being frontrunners -- there’s a lot of frontrunner stuff that goes on in this league -- and we pride ourselves on not being that.
"When the going gets tough, we get tougher. And guys did that, and that’s all that really matters, honestly."