Draymond Green is the NBA’s favorite villain, and Friday’s game against Memphis is the best proof. Not content with getting himself ejected for insulting the referees, the Golden State Warriors forward committed a flagrant foul that enraged Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Friday’s game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, was marred by controversy. Not only because of the two technical fouls against Green that ended in his ejection with one minute left in the game, but because of his foul against Zach Edey, which could have changed the course of the game.
At the end of the third quarter, the Warriors forward tripped while dribbling toward the basket. Edey recovered the ball on the run, but as he began the fast break, he fell to the ground after his foot became entangled in Green’s arm.
The fall was not accidental, however. After reviewing the play, the referees determined that Green had intentionally caught Edey’s foot, causing the fall. The Warriors were given a free throw, but Jenkins believes the consequences should have been more severe for Green.
Jenkins vs. Green
Speaking after the game that Golden Statewon 123-118, the Memphis head coach questioned the referees’ decision and wondered where the NBA’s moral code had gone.
“We were about to start the break, and [Edey’s] been playing really hard to try to outlet,” Jenkins recalled at a press conference. “Draymond grabs his leg, pulls him down and it doesn’t get reviewed,” the coach complained.
“So, I know there’s a code in this league and I don’t understand how that wasn’t reviewed. Very disappointing,” Jenkins lamented after his team’s loss, perhaps thinking that if Green had been ejected earlier, the score would have been different.
What’s next for Warriors and Grizzlies
The Grizzlies will have little time to lick their wounds. On Monday, they begin a three-game homestand, two against the Denver Nuggets and one against the Philadelphia 764ers.
The Warriors, meanwhile, will try to keep their winning streak going when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers. Then they will return home to face the Atlanta Hawks and hit the road again to visit the New Orleans Pelicans.
