Latest Draymond Green Kick May Be Impossible to Defend, Will Be Defended Anyway

Draymond Green has built an impressive legacy of unconscionably dirty play in his young career. But he may have stooped to a new level with a high-kick during the Warriors’ victory over the Clippers on Thursday night.

He and Raymond Felton were wrestling for a loose ball when Blake Griffin joined the scramble. Green, laying on his back at the time, kicked his right leg upward as high as flexibility allowed, catching Griffin in the upper arm with a flying ankle.

Now, the impact wasn’t severe and the Clippers forward barely reacted to the incident. That doesn’t make what Green did any less ridiculous. Usually he can rely on some sort of gravitational argument when trying to explain away his Rockette routine. This one stands out because he was laying flat on his back, meaning he had to engage his entire core in order to swing his leg at an opponent’s head.

It’s increasingly difficult to understand why Green’s allowed to do stuff like this. Like, if someone told you an NBA player was habitually targeting the skulls and groins of other NBA players, it’d be reasonable to think the league would be interested in seeking stern justice in order to send a message.

Instead, the message seems to be that Green’s body moves differently than everyone one else’s body, like he has an invisible doctor on his knee who periodically bashes a knee with a rubber hammer — that Green’s wildly punting motion is beyond his control.

It’s also increasingly difficult to keep track of what strike this is for Green. Strike nine? Strike twelve?

Look, the NBA is cruising for trouble as long as it continues to turn a blind eye and apply a different understanding of physics when it comes to the Warriors star. The law of averages suggests he’ll eventually hurt someone and the league’s enabling will look even worse.