General Playoff Thread: The Long 2nd Season
- Thread starter ElUno20
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Contrary to popular opinion, I actually Draymond a lot. There is no denying that he is an excellent player and a lot of his stuff is fun to watch and I appreciate his passion. My only issue with him is that he is so passionate in the heat of the game that he sometimes does irresponsible actions, some of which can be classified as dirty. It is disappointing because I think he is a pretty intelligent guy and that he would be able to reel that in a bit.
Thunder can't miss tonight. The Warriors may very well still win this series but I don't recall the '86 Celtics or the '96 Bulls getting waxed like this in the playoffs.
Dion Waiters is having himself a game! Just jacking up the price to resign him in the offseason.
I have 60.6% with GSW at 40.3%. Worse, GSW are at 28.6% from 3 point range, with the Thunder at 42.1%
After watching them in the playoffs, I don't think there is anything that OKC can't do.
Sorry. Slipped a digit. Meant to type 61%. Either way its spectacular. Nice game for your squad.
Thanks, but Kyle Singler just entered the game. Everywhere, Thunder fans sighed. The GSW still have a chance!
Guess you're right! Kanter gets his garbage time double-double. Worth a max contract!
Skip Bayless is a moron. He said that it would surprise him if the Thunder won a single game in this series.
I saw the replay of the Green kick and I'm not sure he meant to kick Adams there specifically. It did seem though that he wanted to make hard contact. I wouldn't be surprised either way regarding suspension given how arbitrarily the NBA tends to rule on these things.
I thought the same thing. Surprised he didn't take it further and call for a flagrant the other way.
The KG comparison is unfair. Green isn't a fake tough guy nor is he afraid to throw down with people his own size. You have to at least respect him for that
I don't care what anyone says. I am a Celtics fan first and foremost and I would have Draymond Green on my team any time. He is emotional and a clear shit talker - this much is true. This can work against the guy sometimes. More often than not, though, the guy wills his team's way to wins. There is no way Golden State gets the championship last year without him and he is a large part of this year's record setting team.
I will not excuse his shitty play or his bad behavior. But they are part and parcel to a guy who will do all the dirty work needed to put his team in the best spot to win. Tonight it worked against him but, more often than not, it works in the Warriors favor. The guy is a winner and, if those who value max effort are being honest, the kind of player every championship team, across virtually every sport, needs to get over the hump.
I will not excuse his shitty play or his bad behavior. But they are part and parcel to a guy who will do all the dirty work needed to put his team in the best spot to win. Tonight it worked against him but, more often than not, it works in the Warriors favor. The guy is a winner and, if those who value max effort are being honest, the kind of player every championship team, across virtually every sport, needs to get over the hump.
I love the passive phrasing - i.e. kicking another player in the groin is something that "worked against him."
Putting in max effort and being a dirty scumbag are not synonymous. It is possible to play hard without being the latter. And I don't agree with the whole "he's a guy you'd absolutely love if he were on your team." Some of my friends who are long-time GSW fans tolerate Green because they root for the laundry. I was rooting for GSW throughout the regular reason as they went for the record and I could still barely root for this guy.
Who are these friends? Vonteego Cummings and pals? You're full of shit. Those people don't exist.
Draymond was -43 last night. -43!
I think it's a consensus that he's a great player, and people who won't admit that probably are biased a bit because his game is unlikable. But I think, at times, he moves past the "you'd love him if he was on your team" mantra that applies to most controversial players. Being a complete asshole, the whining, and then shit like that kick last night are getting to be too much at times for even fans of his to stomach.
I think it's a consensus that he's a great player, and people who won't admit that probably are biased a bit because his game is unlikable. But I think, at times, he moves past the "you'd love him if he was on your team" mantra that applies to most controversial players. Being a complete asshole, the whining, and then shit like that kick last night are getting to be too much at times for even fans of his to stomach.
Not a Celtics fan, just a fan of the league in general so my allegiances shift from time to time. Maybe everything he's doing is no more dirty than KG and Chris Paul sack tapping players, or guys in the 80's cold-cocking each other...doesn't make it any less hate-able. Everyone flops (I love LeBron, and that garbage on Saturday night was embarrassing), everyone whines, people do dirty shit on the court...Draymond just does a ton of it, and never shuts up, which doesn't help his image. He's a gamer for sure, and you'd want a guy like that on your side going into the playoffs, but I don't think it's just a fans of the Warriors vs. not-fans of the Warriors thing anymore.
Draymond's behavior reminds me of what Bill Simmons wrote about Bruce Bowen back during the 07 Suns-Spurs suspension fiasco, something along the lines of: for a world class athlete, Bruce Bowen sure seemed to have a lot of "accidents" on the basketball court that involved hitting, tripping, and endangering opponents. Chalk last night up to another one of Draymond's "accidents".
On the other hand, I liked what Kobe had to say about Draymond ("He’s a competitor, and he’s not afraid to show he’s a competitor. He’s not afraid to address certain issues with teammates and with (opponents) that may seem uncomfortable. He’s a challenger.”) Draymond's willing to push things as far as possible, presumably driven by a strong competitive hunger. These games aren't life and death, and I'm down with people who are willing to stop being polite and do whatever they think it takes to win. But I can't fault people who want the game play "right" and hate Draymonds guts.
Fair enough. Though I find the "play the game right" types are hypocritical and generally full of shit. As with all sports, if you value winning you cannot complain how the sausage is made.
Bird, McHale and KG were all notoriously dirty players and shit talkers. And I am glad that they played for my team.
As a Thunder fan, I hope the NBA doesn't suspend Green. I'd rather have the Thunder defeat Golden State when the Warriors are at full strength. It would make for a more impressive victory, if they can actually pull it off. I think the "injustice" factor would encourage Thunder fans to be even louder on Tuesday, and this becomes the "Metta World Peace slams James Harden" incident of the series.
Yea, a minority of people will preach that in all situations, but usually when I see it the comments are driven by player/team allegiance and dislike of opponents more than anything else. Just like every "stay classy" comment.
He has to get suspended, because of the suspension from the Cleveland game. Hitting guys in the nuts is a new one for me, but it happens a lot now. Don Cherry would say they have taken the pushig and shoving out and made guys cheaper.
Green looks bad in this exchange. He went a big guy that was able to move and sta in front of him then he reacted like a baby. This is not tough guy stuff.
Green looks bad in this exchange. He went a big guy that was able to move and sta in front of him then he reacted like a baby. This is not tough guy stuff.
KG could have barked like a dog, pulled a Eugene from WD and bit someone in the nuts and it wouldn't have surprised me. Falls under the "he is an asshole but he is our asshole" category. Good teams tend to have an Oakley or McSorley though those guys were in a special category of their own.
I don't hate or like green, though I will freely admit I would definitely like him if he were on my team, and I wish he were. Djhr's sausage making metaphor seems apt.
That said, green absolutely deserves to be suspended for game 4. It's a no-brainier.
That said, green absolutely deserves to be suspended for game 4. It's a no-brainier.
Classic NBA move.
I get their thought process which is that having stars play is more important for business than any kind of consistency in discipline, but honestly it's just begging for players to retaliate on the court which risks injury.
Not suspended and that is the right decision imho. This behavior has been going on for a while so I tend to believe Green's version of the event - it was inadvertent. The first time was absolutely inadvertent too and there is no way you can convince me otherwise. Your results may vary.
That said, as Tom Tolbert and Ray Ratto said on their local radio show today, if the league wants to legislate players flailing while fouled, its something they need to address in the offseason and they should make it a big deal like a three game suspension.
Finally, don't compare Jones's suspension to this - that was a fist, there looked to more intent and furthermore, Jones wasn't going to see any time in that series anyhow. I know that opinion isn't popular here but that is where I am at.
That said, as Tom Tolbert and Ray Ratto said on their local radio show today, if the league wants to legislate players flailing while fouled, its something they need to address in the offseason and they should make it a big deal like a three game suspension.
Finally, don't compare Jones's suspension to this - that was a fist, there looked to more intent and furthermore, Jones wasn't going to see any time in that series anyhow. I know that opinion isn't popular here but that is where I am at.
He'll be fined and his foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2. As I said above, the lack of suspension is fine by me. Green will make an awesome villain for Thunder fans, who will be louder than ever in Game 4.
LOL - we get it. If you choose to believe that the leg kick was not intentional, hey, more power to you. But it was and that clip you linked to does not really support your opinion. Like, at all.