Draymond calls out Miller for comment in Lakers-Suns game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Draymond Green and the Warriors aren’t in the 2021 NBA playoffs, but his name came up Tuesday night during TNT’s broadcast of Game 2 of the first-round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
A minute into the game at Phoenix Suns Arena, Lakers star Anthony Davis was being guarded by Jae Crowder and went up for a jump shot on the wing. As Davis followed through, he kicked his feet out and his left foot hit Crowder in the groin.
Hall of Famer and current TNT game analyst Reggie Miller was on the call and started to invoke Green’s name when discussing what the refs should rule on the play.
“This is probably going to be a technical, because we saw Draymond Green a few years ago,” Miller said before pausing to left referee Zach Zarba explain that the play was under review. “I think the foul will stick. But I think it will be a technical foul on Anthony Davis. It’s unintentional. It’s unintentional. But this is part of the new rules now to protect players.”
The referees reviewed the play and deemed it a Flagrant 1 foul on Davis.
Green was watching the broadcast and took exception to Miller referencing him.
Back in the 2016 Western Conference finals, Green kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams in the groin twice during the series.
The first incident took place in Game 2 of the series and the second happened in Game 3. In that game, Green was called for a Flagrant 1 foul. After the game, the NBA upgraded the call to a Flagrant 2 and fined Green $25.000.
Did Green intentionally kick Adams in the groin in back-to-back games? The chatter was that he was kicking out his legs on purpose, though Adams later disagreed.
“Ummmmm … (long pause) … that’s a tough one,” Adams told ESPN’s Zach Lowe on the “Lowe Post” podcast in 2019. “It is. That’s a tough one. Nah, nah, he didn’t. I think he wanted to flail — he intentionally wanted to flail — but I don’t think (he thought), ‘Let me just pinpoint, accurate, shin right into old mate’s crown jewels.’ I don’t think he thought that.
“I thought he was like, ‘Ah, there’s contact, flail, bang.’ Twice in the same series (laughing).”
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Clearly Green isn’t happy with the insinuation that his actions against Adams are now thought to be “unintentional” when a different tune was being sung in 2016.