The Golden State Warriors took on the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 2 of their second-round matchup on Tuesday in a series that is already getting extremely chippy.
Game 1 of the series saw Warriors star forward Draymond Green get ejected after committing a flagrant-2 foul.
In Game 2, Green was elbowed in the face by Grizzlies forward Zavier Tillman which required Green to briefly leave the game and receive stitches for a cut on his right eye. Green didn’t take too kindly to the reaction to the injury in the FedExForum from Grizzlies fans following the injury, as he flipped the double bird on his way to the locker room.
He then commented on the matter following the game, saying that “it felt really good to flip them off” after being heckled by the Grizzlies fans.
These comments have gotten the sports world talking, and First Take co-hosts JJ Redick and Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo clearly had differing opinions on the matter Wednesday morning.
Russo voiced his frustrations with Green, saying that Green should “shut up and play” and that “America is tired of Draymond Green.”
Redick took exception to these comments and defended Green while blasting Russo for his comments, saying that they are on par with Fox News host Laura Ingraham telling LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” back in 2018.
“This has the same kind of connotations that the shut up and dribble crowd has toward athletes,” said Redick. “I have a real problem with that. Specifically, with Draymond and the idea that America is tired of him, You do realize that the guy has a very popular podcast that he hosts where he talks himself for the majority of the episode and people listen to that.”
“The reason that people want to hear what Draymond has to say is because just like in this press conference he is real, authentic, and unfiltered. And as a player, he is real, authentic, and unfiltered. The edge that he plays with is what makes him great. It’s what makes him a future Hall of Famer. You can’t take away what makes a player great, so there is no shut up and play.”
Given Redick’s success in his playing career as well as his knowledge of basketball, maybe Russo should have kept his comments on Green to himself on Wednesday.
Regardless, the rest of this series looks like it should be set up to be one of the most entertaining matchups of the second round of the playoffs.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.