Does anyone really think the Warriors don't win in 5 without the Green suspension? I admit it was poetic justice for it to happen, but they had all the momentum and were going home. I actually picked it to go 7, but after game 4, I admitted I was wrong......until the NBA office got involved.
I'm not so sure GSW wins in 5 without the suspension. Green never should have put himself in that position, but he did and got what he deserved.
I think the injury to Bogut, Iguodala's bad back and Kerr's change in coaching philosophy all had more to do with losing the series than Green's suspension.
Green pretty much sucked in the games before and after the suspension. Hard to say how much of a positive impact he would have had in Game 5, but based on his performances in Games 4 and 6, probably not much.
Even without Green, they were still very much in Game 5 when Bogut went down. Had Bogut not been injured they might have won in 5 without Green.
I think the real reason they blew the series, in hindsight was Kerr electing to play way too much small ball after the first 3 games. When they went up 3-1, it was guys like Shaun Livingston and Mo Speights stepping up. That took pressure off Steph and Klay and let them play a lot fewer minutes. In the first three games, Steph and Klay were both averaging less than 30 MPG.
The change started in Game 4, when Kerr played both Steph and Klay almost 40 minutes. In Game 5, they were both over 40 minutes for the first time in the post season.
I get wanting to play your best players as many minutes as possible, but they started playing a lot more small ball even before Bogut went down. And after Bogut went down, they barely played Speights, Varejao and Ezeli. Small ball is a great way to take advantage of your advantages in speed and quickness for 20 - 24 MPG, but when you start playing small ball 36-40 MPG it takes it's toll. Your smaller players are constantly bumped, pushed and grabbed by much bigger, stronger players and it wears them out. And when they are dog tired, that speed and quickness advantage is nowhere to be seen. Now, you're just a small, slow, tired team with shooters who have no legs. Take away a shooter's legs, you take away his shot.
Yes, Steph Curry should have the ball in his hands with 10 seconds left in the game when you're down by 3, but he shouldn't be so dead tired he can't even beat Kevin Love off the dribble in an isolation. Love had no help anywhere nearby and Curry didn't have the legs to shake him.
Yeah, the Green suspension MAY have been a factor, but make no mistake, there were bigger reasons why GSW lost. Even after the Green suspension, they were up 3-2 with Game 7 at home. The league didn't take that series from them. It was a combination of them giving it up and LeBron seizing the moment.
BNM