The former star of NBAthe giant Shaquille O’Nealcomes out in defense of Draymond Greenwho made headlines for his involvement in a heated altercation during the match Golden State vs. Minnesota earlier this week.
On November 14, a confrontation took place between players from the The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors; Klay Thompson y Jaden McDaniels They were involved in an altercation. But the dispute intensified when the Warriors star, Draymond Greenhe put a necklock on Rudy Gobertafter witnessing Gobert put his hands on Thompson.
Shaq agrees with Green’s action
Thompson, McDaniels and Green were ejected from the game. But to add insult to injury, the NBA handed Draymond Green an additional five-game suspension for his involvement in the fight. Green received the harshest punishment of all for the incident after strangling Gobert, although O’Neal would not blame him for his actions.
In an exclusive interview with TMZ Sports at his charity event in Los Angeles, Shaq expressed his support for Green, saying, “I would have done the same thing!”
“I don’t like to be a hypocrite about the situation, I would have done the same thing,” he told TMZ. “You have to defend your teammates.”
Green earned a five-game suspension for the wrestling hold he applied to Gobert, which even Warriors coach Steve Kerr called “wrong.”
“When you do those things the NBA will do what it does,” O’Neal said. ‘I don’t mean too harsh. Was it justified? I don’t know, but I’m not going to criticize Draymond Green for something I would have done.
Green has 18 ejections in his career and has earned a reputation for questionable conduct, including his stomp on the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis in last year’s playoffs and a kick to the groin of Steven Adams in 2016.
Shaquille O’Neal, meanwhile, was ejected from 14 games during his Hall of Fame career.
From there a bad streak began
Without Green for most of that game, the Warriors ended up losing to the Timberwolves by a final score of 104-101, marking their fourth consecutive loss. Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski led the team in scoring with 23 points off the bench and 9 of 18 from the field. Additionally, he grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists for the Warriors.
Green chose an inopportune time to receive a five-game suspension from the league. The Warriors are reeling, having lost five straight games following their 128-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
In addition to Green’s suspension, Warriors guard Stephen Curry has missed the team’s last two games with a sprained right knee. He is questionable to play in Golden State’s rematch against the Thunder on Saturday.
The Warriors desperately need a win to snap their losing streak, but that’s easier said than done considering they won’t have Green, who is widely considered the heart and soul of the team, in the lineup for their next four games.
After playing the Thunder again on Saturday, the Warriors will face the Houston Rockets, who have won six straight, on Nov. 20 and the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 22.
2023-11-18 20:58:08
