Draymond Green won’t change post-suspension, ready for Game 4

SANFRANCISCO (AP) — Draymond Green is certain this is far from hislast suspension, andhe had some strong words for theNBAtrying to make him an example of suspensions based onpast behavior.

The GoldenState forward is set to return for the Warriors in Sunday’s Game 4against the Sacramento Kings with his team trailing 2-1 in thebest-of-seven series after serving a one-game suspensionduringthedefending champions’ 114-97 Game 3 victoryThursdaynight.

“Them (s——)don’t work,” Green said Saturday of any special rules for him.“Here I am, still sitting here, still winning. They created thoserules before, they didn’t work, they still don’t work. Maybe theydid but Draymond won’t be moved by no Draymond rules. I willcontinue to play the game how I play the game, operate how Ioperate, be exactly who I am, because that leads to winning.”

In thefourth quarter of the Kings’ 114-106 Game 2 win Mondaynight,Greenstepped on the chest of Sacramento center DomantasSabonisafter Stephen Curry grabbed a defensiverebound.

With theWarriors pushing the ball up court and Sabonis on the ground, Greentook a hard step on Sabonis, who stayed down for several minutes asofficials reviewed the play.

Sabonis wascalled for a technical foul for grabbing Green’s leg, and Green wasgiven a flagrant 2 foul that led to an automatic ejection.

GoldenState shined in Green’s absence the next game, though Curry madeclear his disappointment with the NBA’s position and noted how ittook everyone responding — saying “how bad of a decision I thinkthey made on suspending him first and foremost and you’refrustrated with that but you also have to understand, I know Bob(Myers) said it up here yesterday, we have a job to do and there’snothing we could do about it.”

Whileexplaining the discipline, announced by executive vice presidentandheadof basketball operations Joe Dumars, the NBA noted “thesuspension was based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlikeacts.”

76ers coachDoc Rivers expressed his disagreement with it: “I didn’t thinkDraymond should’ve gotten suspended and I think the league issetting up a very dangerous precedent right now.”

“Myfeelings about it is irrelevant. My sentiments on it is that Istrongly agree with Doc Rivers,” Green said. “I think he said itbetter than anybody could have said it, but as far as beingsuspended or the game goes, we won. So anything that happenedaround that or how I felt or how anyone felt, we channeled it theright way. You channel that energy the right way, I think that’sthe most important thing.”

In 2016,Green was suspended for a crucial Game 5 loss to LeBron James andthe Cavaliers in the NBA Finals after accumulating too manyflagrant fouls in the playoffs that season. The Warriors wound uplosing in seven.

He can’tcompare the two.

“It’s adifferent feeling, 2016 we were up 3-1, so whether you lose thatgame or not you have more,” Green said. “Being down 2-0 you havemore whether you lose or not, but it’s different. So I think for usbeing in a totally different position. Being in a dog fight and notbeing able to participate, that’s tough, not from the suspension.I’ve been suspended from Game 5 of the NBA Finals. There’s never asuspension that would bother me. There’s no game that could compareto that, so as far as my personal feeling about a suspension it’sneither here nor there. It doesn’t move me one way or another. ...I’ll get suspended again at some point.”

Now, Greenis eager to move forward, get back on the court and keep GolenState going.

“As long asthey create Draymond rules that means we’re winning,” he said, “andthat’s great, they can create as many Draymond rules as they want,that’s beautiful. It doesn’t change Draymond.”