Reaction to Draymond Green’s suspension

Draymond Green will miss Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Here are some of the reactions from around the league.

Few things make an NBA Finals series more interesting than villains.

Draymond Green has become everyone’s favorite villain. His postseason run has enraged every egg on Twitter and every actions comes under scrutiny. Green has turned himself into an NBA All-Star by scrapping and fighting for every loose ball and for every stop on every possession.

That intensity has come under fire during this playoff run. He picked up his fourth flagrant foul point after the NBA reviewed his incident with LeBron James in Game 4. The league determined that Green was trying to hit James in the groin after the Cavaliers superstar tried to step over him. They assessed James a technical foul and Green a flagrant foul, effectively suspending him for Game 5 with a chance to clinch his second consecutive title.

All year long, the Warriors have had to deflect the notion that they got “lucky” that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were heathy. While there hasn’t been any bad blood between the two teams, they aren’t necessarily friendly either. This has put them over the edge.

The NBA Finals just got more interesting. Here are some of the best quotes and reactions following the announcement of Green’s suspension.

Green has remained silent since the suspension.

Immediately after the league handed out the punishment, Green and his agent were talking to league officials about working something out where he can be in the building. By rule, a suspended player has to be out of the arena two hours before the game actually starts. He can return to any celebration.

Green will be watching the game from the Oakland Coliseum next door in a suite. The two venues are connected by a tunnel.

Andrew Bogut wasn’t particularly enthused by the decision to assess James and Green different penalties.

Some of James’ own teammates were asked to comment about it and, of course, the quotes were fascinating.

It’s safe to say that James’ actions have even conflicted his teammates.

Charles Barkley, who has, for whatever reason, consistently opposed the Warriors over the years finally backed Green. The Hall of Famer has criticized Golden State for being “too soft,” citing the defending champions as proof that jump-shooting teams can’t win championships.

He defended Green saying that “when a man steps over you, you have a moral obligation to punch him in the balls.” The modern day Aristotle has spoken.

The Thompson family has completely ethered James.

James replied to Klay Thompson‘s comments.

Klay’s dad, Mychal Thompson, also had some words for James.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a controversy without Ayesha Curry throwing her name into the mix. James repeatedly noted that he was going to take the high road in this situation, raising the question “can you really take the high road if you say you’re going to?”

Queen of #DubNation leads the series over King James 1-0.

The Warriors are going to have a tough time replicating what Draymond Green brings to the table, but the NBA Finals, after a dull start, just got really interesting.