"Doesn’t want to play without his guy": Rudy Gobert premeditated Draymond Green ejection citing Steph Curry's absence
Rudy Gobert has further stoked the flames between him and Draymond Green. The Golden State Warriors forward was ejected from his team's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. Green had grabbed Gobert in a chokehold and dragged him to the floor.
When speaking to the media after the game, Gobert called Green's actions "clown behavior" before noting how the veteran forward's ejections usually coincide with Steph Curry being absent from games:
“Every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph so he does anything he can to get ejected,” Gobert said.
Green wasn't the only player ejected from the contest between the Warriors and Timberwolves. Klay Thompson was also removed for his part in the affray.
Curry was absent from the game between the two sides due to right knee soreness. He had been listed as questionable throughout the day before the Warriors upgraded him to "out" on their injury report. Following the wild start to the game between Golden State and Minnesota, the Warriors fell to their fourth straight defeat and their first loss of in-season tournament competition.
Green will likely face a suspension for his actions. The league will want to ensure physical retailations such as his don't become a trend around the NBA.
Steve Kerr defends Draymond Green and Klay Thompson following ejection from the Warriors game
When speaking to the media following the Golden State Warriors' loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Steve Kerr defended his players, noting how Rudy Gobert had his hands around Klay Thompson's neck before Draymond Green stepped in:
"There's no way Klay Thompson should have been thrown out of the game," Kerr said. " ...No way Klay should have been ejected, that was ridiculous. And, the Draymond piece of it, if you watch the replay, Rudy had his hands on Klay's neck."
Kerr continued:
"And that's why Draymond went after Rudy. I saw one replay after the incident and guys on the back of the bench were telling us that Rudy had Klay and that's why Draymond went at Rudy. That's all I know. But it was a bizarre way to start the game one minute and a half in."
Kerr's comments will unlikely have any impact on how the NBA handles this situation in the coming days. Green's actions escalated the confrontation between Thompson and McDaniels and got two star players ejected from an in-season tournament game — a format the league office has been pushing since the start of the season.
Nevertheless, it's clear that Golden State's team chemistry is off the charts, and their players are willing to fight for each other. It's that team chemistry that has made the Warriors such an elite threat over the past decade and will have other teams concerned about how the franchise will bounce back from its latest setback.