"I didn't YANK his jersey!" - Draymond Green defiant about his flagrant foul and suspension in conversation with Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley
Draymond Green joined Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley on "NBA on TNT" to discuss his ejection in Sunday's game between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Warriors secured a 117-116 win in Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-finals against the Grizzlies despite Green’s dismissal with 1:18 left in the first half.
O'Neal opened the discussion with a hilarious analysis of what happened during the play. When Barkley pointedly asked if Green pulled Brandon Clarke’s jersey and yanked him to the ground, the Golden State Warriors' starting forward replied:
“The law of gravity, if he tries to jump up this way and my hand is caught in his shirt this way [down], it’s automatically gonna come down the opposite way. But I didn’t yank his jersey and in order to get suspended, it has to be excessive. I didn’t do this, he’s just jumping and my hand is up. It’s all good, though.”
"You didn't pull his jersey?"
The Inside crew gets @Money23Green's take on his flagrant 2 ejection from Game 1 vs. the Grizzlies. https://t.co/YUeHKgKwIx
Green’s response to Barkley was a confirmation of O'Neal’s somewhat incredulous take on the whole incident:
“No, it wasn’t a Flagrant 2, it was a hard foul in the playoffs. If you really look at the play, he didn’t pull him down. When Draymond hit him in the face all his motor skills kind of shut off and he was kind of flopping to fall anyway.”
Based on the video, it looked like Brandon Clarke wasn’t able to dunk the ball due to the grab or Draymond Green’s hand getting entangled with his jersey.
It was also very clear that Green eased the fall by holding his jersey up as Clarke went down.
When asked by Kenny Smith why he refused to let go, Green had a very candid and valid response:
“If I let go, it’s like, ‘Oh man, you slammed him down.’ Again, because it’s me, it’s a lose-lose and that’s okay.”
Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley are favoring Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors to eliminate the Memphis Grizzlies
On an episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq," Shaquille O'Neal said the Golden State Warriors would win the NBA title this season. He made the bold prediction halfway into the season, and he’s not changing his tune.
Charles Barkley considered the Game 1 win to be crucial as the Warriors now hold home-court advantage in the series.
The Golden State Warriors have been playing as well as they have been all season long, particularly with Jordan Poole’s postseason emergence.
Mature, experienced and battle-tested vs. young, talented and fearless.
@MontePooleNBCS examines who holds the edge in the compelling Warriors-Grizzlies series nbcsports.com/bayarea/warrio…
Game 2 will take place on Tuesday with the Brandon Clarke and Draymond Green undercard, a must-see event of its own.
The Golden State Warriors hold an enormous edge in postseason experience, while the Memphis Grizzlies will compensate for that with youthful exuberance and energy.