Draymond Green deserved a flagrant 2 foul.
The Golden State Warriors don’t agree and are doing a fine job of shaping the narrative that he got hosed on Sunday. But he didn’t. He smacked Brandon Clarke in the face, then dragged him down by his jersey from midair. It was reckless and dangerous, and Clarke’s fortunate to not have been injured.
Clear-cut flagrant 2
The narrative that Green didn’t deserve a flagrant 2 started on the ESPN broadcast and quickly caught fire on social media, thanks largely to this widely shared replay of the incident that showed Green attempting to brace Clarke’s fall after he dragged him down to the court:
Second and third angles of the incident show the full story. That story includes Green winding up with his right hand, smacking Clarke in the face, then dragging him to the floor by his jersey with his left hand.
That Green attempted to brace Clarke’s fall after he committed a flagrant 2 violation doesn’t negate the fact that he smacked Clarke and dragged him to the court in the first place.
That’s a clear-cut flagrant 2 foul, which the NBA defines as “unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.” Calling it that way does not make today’s NBA soft. This was not a basketball play.
But social media ran with the first angle while largely ignoring the others, setting the “downgrade” campaign in full motion. Green was happy to carry the baton postgame.
Draymond’s pitch to reduce flagrant 2
Green continued the campaign immediately after Sunday’s Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, jumping on his podcast postgame to lobby for a flagrant 1 foul.
Story continues
It was a brilliant bit of self-promotion from Green, who in one swoop made his case for his basketball postseason while propping up his burgeoning media career, which is showing great promise for his second act after basketball. Unfortunately for Green, his pitch for a flagrant 1 downgrade failed. An NBA spokesperson told The Athletic’s Shams Charania Monday…