Warriors' JaMychal Green shades LeBron James for flopping comments
Green shades LeBron on Instagram for his flopping comments originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Steve Kerr’s remarks about the increased amount of flopping in the Warriors-Lakers NBA playoff series didn’t sit well with LA.
After Lakers coach Darvin Ham appeared to take a subtle shot at Kerr by saying “We don’t teach flopping” during Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night, LA superstar LeBron James echoed his coach’s message postgame.
"I just know that we, our coaching staff and us players, we don't work on flopping," James said after his team's 121-106 loss to Golden State at Chase Center. "That's not even a part of our game. Our game is to attack, attack the paint. We don't mind physical contact. We actually like the contact, and we don't shy away from it, so we're just not a team that goes out there looking for flopping opportunities.
"That's just not us. It's never been -- it's actually never been any team that I've played on in my 20 years, where we've been a flopping team. But it is what it is. They have their right to say what they want to say."
Then a player on the other side also stepped in to defend his coach.
Warriors veteran forward JaMychal Green responded to James’ postgame comments via his Instagram story Thursday, and insinuated that the four-time NBA MVP was lying.
The back and forth started when Kerr made a public plea to the NBA to address the flopping, and even suggested a rule change similar to what the International Basketball Federation has.
"I think we should address it, because the players are so smart, and the entire regular season is about gamesmanship and trying to fool the refs," Kerr said Tuesday. "And this is how it’s been for a while, and it’s up to us as a league. Do we want to fix this? ...
"These are all things that are my personal plea to the NBA. I think we can do better in terms of cleaning up the flopping. In the meantime, I give the Lakers credit for the plays that they’ve been able to sell."
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TNT's Chris Haynes reported Thursday that the Lakers heard Kerr's comments loud and clear.
“Let them [expletive] and complain," one Lakers player told Haynes ahead of Game 5 at Chase Center. "It shows weakness and frustration. We can’t get caught up in that game. We just have to play and keep fighting."
Both teams will keep fighting Friday night, as the series heads back to LA for Game 6 and the Warriors look to keep their season alive.
