flagrant foul

Draymond Green Comments On D’Angelo Russell Flagrant Foul

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There were a handful of memorable viral moments during the Nuggets’ 108-103 win over the Lakers on Thursday night. Fans have roasted LeBron for completely flubbing a breakaway dunk. LeBron also garnered attention for his continuing inability to sink fourth-quarter threes. However, few things have gotten people more heated than a foul call early in the game.

With about three minutes left in the first quarter and the Lakers leading 23-20, Jamal Murray was driving to the basket when the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell employed a fairly physical block. Russell crashed into Murray, sending the Nugget to the floor. The refs immediately called Russell for a Flagrant 1. However, many people have disagreed with the call, arguing that the incident was nothing close to a flagrant foul. This was echoed both by announcers and fans online.

Green Tweets After Foul Call

The Warriors’ Draymond Green was one of the people who disagreed with the foul. Green is no stranger to the whims of the refs, having missed a playoff game this season for stomping on a Kings’ player during the first round. But Green took issue with the decision to call Russell for a Flagrant 1. Taking to his Twitter account, Green simply tweeted “soft” around the time of the foul call. As the comments poured in, Green followed up with another tweet. “A lot of you dudes be real disrespectful in these comments. FAN BOYS. However, I think it really bother y’all that I’m the PLAYER that I am and the VOICE that I am. I get it… it’s tough to wrap your mind around it. But just accept it. I’m humbly ELITE at both 🤷🏿‍♂️.”

Russell had a quiet night overall outside of the viral moment. He played 33 minutes, putting up 10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block. This year’s playoffs have become a lightning rod of foul controversy, especially in the early rounds. In the first round, the refs were very liberal with flagrant foul calls, even when the situation clearly didn’t warrant one. Do you think Russell deserved a flagrant foul call last night? Let us know in the comments.

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Harden Gets Ejected For Groin Punch

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“Flagrant foul” appears to be the NBA’s word of the week. Draymond Green received a “flagrant 2” for stomping on Domantas Sabonis earlier in the week. Then last night, Joel Embiid got a “flagrant 1” for kicking Nic Claxton while James Harden got a “flagrant 2” for sack-tapping Royce O’Neale. But what even is a “flagrant foul”?

Flagrant fouls are the highest form of in-game penalty in basketball. A “flagrant 1” is defined as “unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent.” Meanwhile, a “flagrant 2” is “unnecessary and excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.” Additionally, both calls carry a standard two-free-throw penalty. However, getting two flagrant 1s or one flagrant 2 in a game also carries an immediate ejection.

Harden Allegedly Goes Below The Belt

Game 3 of the 76ers-Nets series was weird. The Sixers were 2-0 on the series and looking to put the penultimate nail in Brooklyn’s coffin. But less than four minutes into the game, Joel Embiid was called for a flagrant 1 after kicking Nic Claxton. Claxton had just postered Embiid with a heavy alley-oop dunk and Embiid kicked him as Claxton stepped over the MVP front-runner. Furthermore, at the time of the foul, the Nets led 6-4. However, the Sixers found themselves up 11 at the half. The game then swung back and forth until the end of the third, with the Nets up four. The Sixers get Harden the ball off an offensive rebound, hoping he can sink a three.

Royce O’Neale closes in on Harden before Harden begins to drive closer to the three line. Harden appears to make light contact with O’Neale’s groin and O’Neale goes down like he’s been shot. Harden was called for a flagrant 2 and tossed from the game. But we’re not done as Claxton, from the Embiid thing earlier, would also be ejected before game’s end. After dunking on Embiid again in the fourth, Claxton was tossed for flexing on Embiid and being called for a second technical foul. Previously, he had picked up his first tech for stepping over Embiid in the first. Eventually, the Sixers pulled off a 102-97 win, taking a 3-0 series lead into Saturday’s Game 4.

Twitter Reacts

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