League decides not to downgrade Draymond Green’s Flagrant Foul 2

The Golden State Warriors won Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, however, it wasn’t without controversy. In a game filled with questionable officiating, perhaps the most divisive call of the night was the flagrant foul 2 given to Warriors’ big man Draymond Green just before halftime. Green was ejected from the game as the Warriors were forced to win without their defensive ace and leader.

According to a report by The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater on Monday morning, the NBA announced that Green’s flagrant foul 2 will not be reduced by the league.

The significance of this has to do with the league’s postseason rules on flagrant foul points. During the playoffs, players are allowed a total of four flagrant foul points before they receive an automatic one-game suspension. One point is given for a flagrant 1, while two points are given for a flagrant 2. In this case, many were hoping that the league would reduce Green’s foul to a flagrant 1 in order to decrease the likelihood of any potential suspensions in the future.

As Warriors fans know all too well, Green and postseason suspensions are infamously synonymous with each other. During Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Green received a flagrant 1 in the closing minutes of the 4^th quarter and was subsequently suspended for one game as that was his fourth flagrant foul point of the postseason. His absence for that one game changed Warriors’ history and NBA history forever as Golden State went on to lose the series despite being up 3-1.

Hopefully, Green has learned from that past mistake. Golden State can’t afford to lose him as he is a substantial piece to the Warriors championship aspirations this season.