Getty Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers speaks to officials during a bout with the Boston Celtics.
Despite the absence of Draymond Green, the Golden State Warriors managed to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole in their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. Led by Stephen Curry, who dropped 36 points in the contest, the Dubs escaped Game 3 at Chase Center with a crucial win.
Still, the fact that Green was forced to watch from afar as his teammates battled for their playoff lives continues to irk people within the Warriors organization, not to mention the Bay Area faithful and the sporting world at large.
Counting himself among the dissenters is Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers, who has seen his own star players receive admonishment from game officials and even opposing coaches for actions that he feels were provoked by other players.
“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 said on Friday, via NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“This is not me campaigning, alright? 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.”
Sixers’ Doc Rivers Takes Issue With NBA’s Handling of Draymond Green-Domantas Sabonis Situation & the Mindset Amid These Incidents in General
During his rant, Rivers took aim at Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn — one of his former players — for voicing his frustration that Joel Embiid wasn’t ejected after kicking at Nic Claxton during Game 3 of the Sixers-Nets affair.
Never mind the fact that the kick, which barely connected with any part of the Brooklyn big man, came after Claxton stood menacingly over the downed MVP candidate. Or that James Harden was booted in controversial fashion on a separate play.
“I love Jacque,” Rivers said of Vaughn, “but I can’t believe we have coaches campaigning for guys not to play. That’s just nuts to me, really. I’ve been a player and this is a players’ league, and I am 100 percent pro-player. I think players should play in games. We talk all year about fans not being happy about guys not playing, and now we’re taking guys out of the playoffs.”
As Rivers sees it, Kings big man Domantas Sabonis similarly provoked Green by grabbing onto his leg during Monday’s now-infamous stomping incident. And he’s not down with NBA executive VP Joe Dumars’ explanation that Green’s history played a role in the decision to suspend him.
“I don’t believe in the past stuff, either. They take away all your techs at the end of the season and you start over. Then you should start over on that stuff, too. [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.”
Analyst Advises Draymond to Exercise Caution Moving Forward
For his part, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz believes that Green should mind his Ps and Qs moving forward. In a feature breaking down the lessons we have learned as of this point in the NBA postseason, the hoops scribe opined that Green will be watched like a hawk moving forward:
The play of Draymond Green will be monitored closely, as the veteran forward was suspended for Game 3 after stomping on the chest of Domantas Sabonis after the Kings star grabbed his ankle near the end of Game 2…
While the Warriors survived Green’s suspension this time, they may not be as fortunate if it happens again, especially during a road game.
Green has to be extremely careful not to cross the line with his physical play moving forward. The league is paying attention.