The Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green responded to James Harden comments on the officiating.
Everyone on social media was barking at the officiating. It’s like the officials were just the fence between two dogs wanting to go at each other. Those types of plays sparked a conversation which eventually found its way into Draymond Green’s postgame press conference.
Green wasn’t necessarily asked about the plays on Harden, but rather the comments made by the reigning MVP.
Following the game, Harden went viral. Per Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver, Harden said, “I just want a fair chance. We saw what happened with Kawhi a few years back.”
There were several players that Harden could’ve been referencing, and Twitter certainly had fun trying to argue the play. That said, take a look at quite possibly the most important no-call of the game.
CP3 got ejected after this wild Rockets final possession 😮 pic.twitter.com/qXqGJ9Yqjo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 28, 2019
This play caused havoc for fans on both sides. Warrior fans decided to back their former DPOY forward while Rockets fans were infuriated with the no-call. That said, in his postgame press conference, Draymond answered a questioned about Harden’s comments on a ‘fair’ game.
Draymond Green on the Rockets unhappiness with the refs and the landing spot topic: “I’ve been fouled by James (Harden) on a James 3-pointer.” pic.twitter.com/e9j3rwynQX
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 28, 2019
In this video, Green’s referring to how Harden typically kicks out his feet or dives in a certain position in order to draw fouls on three-pointers. However, Green is overall very calm when talking about Harden’s comments and just flies onto the next question.
This was a flashback performance from Green.
Instead of being his usual, passive self, he was aggressive, cutting to the hoop for easy buckets while finding open teammates in the narrowest of holes. Green ended the game with 14 points on 7-for-9 from the field. He tacked along nine rebounds and nine assists as well.
With just one foul, Green also posted a +10, the game’s second-best +/- after Livingston’s +11 in just 14 minutes of play.
Overall, it’s great to see Green not rattled or heated about meaningless comments. These comments should just fuel the Warriors fire for Game 2 which is set for Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.