2016 NBA Finals: 5 Things To Know Heading Into Game 7

4. Green’s Suspension Was The Turning Point

The Golden State Warriors got caught playing with their food, and if they lose Game 7, they’ll be left with the rotten taste in their mouths of letting a historic 73-win season slip away.

If that happens, Draymond Green’s Game 5 suspension will go down as the undisputed turning point during the greatest upset in NBA Finals history.

In the waning moments of Game 4, Green made a play on the ball(s), going (for the) nuts after LeBron James made a show of stepping over him to get back to the play.

Then ensuing flicka-da-wrist on the King’s jewels resulted in a well-earned Flagrant 1 upon further review by the league, putting him over the flagrant foul points threshold and punishing him with a one-game suspension for Game 5.

Whether the league should extend its flagrant foul leniency the longer a team lasts in the playoffs, whether Green actually made contact with the King’s gems or just got the taint (a fascinating debate behind closed doors in the league office that day, I’m sure), whether the contact was incidental, whether it was a warranted reaction since LeBron tried to treat Draymond’s forehead like a cup of tea…none of it is relevant now.

All that matters is Green, knowing full well how close he was to being suspended, lashed out in the worst possible moment. Ultimately, it was his team that felt like it got smacked in the groin.

Given that the masses believed he should’ve been suspended before the LeBron James altercation, tempting the fates in that way was downright negligent, especially for the emotional leader of a 73-win team.

The Warriors had Game 4 wrapped up and were just a few minutes away from heading back to Oracle Arena for an elimination Game 5. You could see it on the Cavs’ faces: They knew the series was over heading into a title clincher in an arena where the Dubs were 50-3 for the season.

In a flash, their outlook changed. Green was suspended, Klay Thompson and Mo Speights started running their mouths, and LeBron James was served heaps of bulletin board material on a silver platter. Without their best two-way player, the Dubs dropped Game 5 and struggled to find their mojo in Game 6 with all the confidence that James and Kyrie Irving had rediscovered at Oracle.

Draymond Green earned Second Team All-NBA honors, he probably should’ve won a Defensive Player of the Year Award over the last two years, he was pivotal during Stephen Curry’s two-week absence in these same playoffs and in Game 7, all will be forgiven if he helps lead the Dubs to victory. The Dubs wouldn’t be on the verge of back-to-back titles without him.

But after a mediocre eight-point, 10-rebound, six-assist performance in what was supposed to be his triumphant return, Draymond Green had better turn in the best game of his career in a victory…or this Bay Area hero will become the scapegoat for the greatest collapse in NBA Finals history.

Next: No. 3