The most talked about series in the 2023 NBA Playoffs so far has been the battle between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, and it seems that ESPN’s JJ Redick has some strong opinions about the officiating.
Game 1 of the series was highly anticipated and lived up to the hype, with the broadcast being the most-viewed NBA event of the season. And while there was an exciting basketball game that happened in Game 2, it has been clouded by the controversy surrounding Draymond Green and Domantas Sabonis.
ESPN’S JJ Redick Calls Out NBA Officials
JJ Redick this morning: “The refs have dictated too much in the Kings favor this series.” pic.twitter.com/qfOSU1gtPX
— Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) April 19, 2023
There are plenty of mixed opinions about the incident that took place during the 4th quarter. The video shows Sabonis on the ground with his hands near his head, with Green’s ankle caught in the forearms. Trying to get out of the fray, Green stomped on the chest of Sabonis, leaving the Kings’ center writhing in pain.
After a day of deliberating, the NBA decided to suspend Draymond Green for Game 3 on Thursday.
There is a contingency of people that believe that Sabonis was trying to protect himself given the punishment that he had been taking throughout the game. But the fact is that Green felt in the heat of the moment that Sabonis was blatantly holding his ankle, and decided to retaliate.
Warriors Will Be Without Green For Game 3
But there are plenty of others who believe that Green was justified in his actions. On ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday morning, JJ Redick called out not only the decision to suspend the Warriors forward, but the officiating in the entire series. He goes on to highlight certain missed calls, including multiple instances between Sabonis and Green.
That is a non-basketball play, to grab someone’s ankle. Malik Monk did it to Draymond. This was, I belive, part of the strategy.
Redick says that he does believe that Green deserved to be ejected from Game 2, but that that should have been the extent of his punishment.
JJ Redick calling out Sabonis dirty play this series pic.twitter.com/0X22oNMcwF
— c H e f 👨🍳 (@ChefBetter) April 19, 2023
The Warriors will obviously be short-handed without their starting power forward and the quarterback of their defense. We will likely see more of Jonathan Kuminga than we have in the first two games, but it is unclear if he will be a starter or if Kerr will shift the positions up a bit.
At the conclusion of Game 2, the betting line that released for Game 3 was set at -7.5 in Golden State’s favor. That number has dropped to -5.5 after the news of Green’s suspension. Tip-off will be Thursday night at 7pm Pacific.
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