NBA fans are not willing to let Draymond Green off the hook. After the Golden State Warriors’ most recent loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Green ended up receiving the majority of the blame for a costly error that he committed toward the final stages of the game.
Given that this was just a regular season matchup, some might fail to understand how important this game was and what Green’s error did to the Warriors in the grand scheme of things. With that being said, here’s more on the whole situation.
Did Draymond Green Cost the Golden State Warriors a Deep Playoff Run?
Heading into this game between the Warriors and the Clippers, the records between multiple teams across the Western Conference were nearly identical. The winner of this game would be able to avoid the play-in tournament and qualify for the playoffs.
As the play-in tournament takes place, the teams that have already qualified for the playoffs would have additional time to rest and prepare for their opponents. The Warriors lost that privilege by losing to the Clippers, and that comes back to Green’s missed layup.
With less than 30 seconds left in overtime, Green found himself under the rim as the ball got to him, giving him a point-blank layup at the rim. Since the Warriors were down by two points, scoring would have tied the game and potentially forced a high-intensity overtime situation.
Green jumped backward into Kawhi Leonard in an attempt to get the foul call as well. However, he missed the layup and lost possession for the Warriors. That decided the outcome of the game, as the Clippers managed to hold onto the lead they generated in OT and won.
Fans blamed Green for this loss and made their feelings clear on social media: “He choked.”
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While it might be unfair to blame Green for the Warriors’ loss, it is hard to deny that his error cost them the game. Some did come to his defense by pointing out that Steve Kerr and Buddy Hield should also be blamed since they messed up the final play that the Warriors used against the Clippers.
In any case, pointing fingers and deciding who to blame will do no good. As things stand, the Warriors are now in the play-in tournament and will have to secure a win against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. By doing so, they will get seventh place and face the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.