LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Golden State star Draymond Green was still steamed this weekend over the flagrant foul he received when his flailing leg found the head of Houston’s James Harden in the Warriors’ NBA loss to the Rockets on Thursday.
It’s nothing new for Green to be penalized for kicks that strike an opponent.
On Thursday — when a double-overtime loss to the Rockets ended the Warriors’ 12-game winning streak — officials dubbed it an “unnatural leg extension.”
Green scoffed at the ruling after the game and again on Saturday.
“It’s funny how you can tell me how I get hit and how my body is supposed to react,” he said. “I didn’t know the league office was that smart when it came to body movements.
“I’m not sure if they took kinesiology for their positions to tell you how your body is going to react when you get hit in a certain position … That’s like me going in there and saying, ‘Hey, you did something on your paperwork wrong.’ I don’t know what your paperwork looks like.
“But it is what it is. They made the rule.”
Green dragged Harden into the debate, saying the Rockets star’s style of shooting layups — with his two raised arms contributing to plenty of fouls called on would-be defenders.
Harden responded on Sunday in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver.
“I wouldn’t call it unnatural,” Harden said. “For me, I just go to the basket and go up with two hands like you’re taught. If you grab my arm it’s a foul. That’s pretty natural in the sport of basketball, in any league.”
He noted that his move is being imitated.
“I’m not going to say any names, but you’ve got a lot of people doing my moves, going to the basket, looking for contact, all that stuff. That’s what you call being a trendsetter,” Harden said.
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