With Curry's key block, the Warriors won the first game of the series without any chance. After the game, the most heated topic of discussion was not Curry's winning cover, nor Thompson's key three-pointer, but the referee who was mainly anti-guest. This became the consensus of fans at home and abroad, and the referee interfered with the game, but fortunately did not change the outcome of the game. Not only fans, but also NBA players have questioned the game's decision, Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young have all made remarks on social media, and Statmuse, who has always only published data, has also bluntly stated that the Warriors face a "5v8" situation.
In the decisive moment of the game, Klay Thompson missed two free throws, and in the scramble between the players on both sides, the basketball was shot out of bounds, and the referee immediately awarded the ball to the Grizzlies. But it's clear from the video replay that Grizzlies Dillon Brooks was the last player to touch the ball, and the ball was supposed to belong to the Warriors. Subsequently, the referee changed the result of the penalty to a mid-circle scramble, which did not affect the ownership of the ball, because the warriors' highest player on the court at that time was Wiggins at 2.01m, while the Grizzlies were 2.13m Jalen Jackson.
This penalty is the most direct impact on the outcome of the game, but not the most influential. In the second quarter, Grizzlies player Clark was fouled by Green on a layup, and Green directly dragged him to the ground in the air, and then the referee escalated the foul to a second-degree malicious foul, and Green was expelled. It was this sentence that caused massive protests, and almost everyone cried out for Greene, and even so, Green was punished more than that. According to renowned journalist Shams, the league is considering a follow-up penalty for Dream-Chasing Green's foul moves, and Drummond Green may face a ban because Dream Green's actions are beyond normal basketball. This result may directly affect the outcome of the series, the Warriors lost a championship because of the dream Green, will this season happen again?
The explanation given by the referee on duty was that Dream Green slapped Brandon Clarke's face during the defense, and there was an obvious pull on the jersey, and the two actions superimposed to cause him to be expelled from the game. There doesn't seem to be a problem with such an explanation, but according to the "consequentialism" of the previous league blows, Green's action did not produce any substantial harm, and most importantly, he also had an obvious protective action at the end. Visually, Green's actions are indeed not regular basketball moves, but Green is definitely not aimed at hurting players. It was a malicious foul, but it shouldn't be a second-degree badweight foul, not to mention that the league is still considering additional penalties. The Warriors seemed to have been deliberately suppressed, and Green was once again targeted.
As the client, Brandon Clark, put it: "I'm not surprised that Drummond Green's career has been known for malicious fouls. "Because Green was the leader of the incident, the referee inadvertently increased the penalty, but the additional punishment is indeed not reasonable." Throughout the season, the only player banned for fouls was the Bucks' Grayson Allen, but Allen's movements were worse and resulted in injuries. After 5 years, the Warriors are once again frustrated by the penalty, and if there is an additional ban, then the Warriors' series situation will change. The Warriors, who have no barriers on the inside, are once again facing a challenge, and Kerr needs to change sides boldly. Cumminga, who played well today, is expected to be the player who will replace Green in the starting lineup.
In this game, the Warriors' new version of the "Death Five" lineup has once again received results, and this lineup will be the Warriors' killing move at the bottom of the box. If Green can't play, Cumminga is the Warriors' best backup. Cumminga can maintain the flexibility of the Warriors' lineup while maintaining a certain amount of defensive flexibility. Today, Kuminga, who came off the bench, cut 6 points and 6 rebounds, and for the Warriors, his defensive value is more important. Poole, Curry and Thompson are not good defenders these days, and their defensive lineup relies on Wiggins and Dream Green. In terms of defensive effectiveness, Cuminga is far inferior to Green, but he is indeed the Only Option for the Warriors. Against the Grizzlies' physically gifted roster, Cumminga can also play to his advantage.
Today, when Green was not on the court, the Warriors still resisted the pressure to play half a game and successfully won. This also shows that the Warriors gave up defense, but in exchange for an offensive improvement, but the Grizzlies will definitely make targeted adjustments, and the next game the Warriors will not be so smooth.