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The Golden State Warriors will officially tip off their title defense on Tuesday night when they welcome the Los Angeles Lakers into Chase Center. Not only that — they’ll celebrate their return to the NBA‘s throne with a ceremony that will see players receive their championship rings.
That includes Draymond Green, who stole headlines recently by striking Jordan Poole during practice.
In spite of his actions, the four-time All-Star avoided punishment from his team. So he’ll be in action against LeBron James and Co. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the possibility of Green missing the aforementioned pre-game ceremony played a role in the decision not to suspend him.
And while that move preserved the feelgood visual of the Dubs’ long-timers all on the court together for the big coronation, one analyst believes the club botched its response to an indefensible act of aggression by Green against a teammate by making it.
B/R: Dubs Missed the Boat in a Major Way by Not Suspending Green
In his latest “buy or sell” piece, Bleacher Report‘s Greg Swartz examined the storylines of the moment in the Association. Regarding the Dubs, Swartz said that he was definitely buying Woj’s report that Green was spared because of ring night. However, the idea that it was actually the right thing to do was a hard sell for him.
Wrote Swartz:
Assaulting a player (teammate or not) should come with serious consequences, ones that don’t cater to whatever events may be going on. Yes, it would be unfortunate for Green to miss what’s sure to be a special night in San Francisco. It’s also something he should have thought about before decking his own teammate.
The hoops scribe made mention of the fact that Bobby Portis was once suspended for eight games by the Bulls for punching Nikola Mirotic in 2017 — a move which Portis claimed he made in self-defense after Mirotic charged at him.
And Warriors fans will recall that Jordan Bell got suspended a few years back for charging a candle to then-assistant coach Mike Brown’s hotel room, which he only did because he thought it was part of a teamwide rib or practical joke.
Given that history, it’s not difficult to see why Swartz and others were perturbed when the Warriors failed to respond in a meaningful way after Green hit Poole with an unwarranted cheap shot.
“For an organization that’s otherwise been so good at everything else, this was a really bad look,” Swartz said.
Warriors Have Priciest Tickets in the NBA: Study
The folks over Bookies.com went deep on ticket prices around the league in a recent study, and what they found definitely won’t please the card-carrying members of Dub Nation. Of course, it probably won’t surprise them, either.
According to the analysis, a family of four purchasing the cheapest tickets to see the Warriors in action will pay at least $570 on average for tickets alone. When one factors in the cost of lot parking ($37.43), two beers ($34.56), two sodas ($14.50) and four hot dogs ($34), the total jumps to almost $700.
For the record, league average for four people purchasing the cheapest tickets comes to $208.64. When parking, concessions, et al. are added to the mix, that number still lands at less than half of what Warriors fans are paying — $288.38.
Such is life when your team is looking at doling out a cool half-billion in player salary and luxury tax payments in 2023-24. The price of winning is steep — and not just for the team, either.
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Warriors Slammed for Handling of Draymond Green Situation: Analyst