“What are you doing, looking for continental tissue commercials?” - Stephen A. Smith rips into NBA officials for tossing Draymond Green out during Warriors-Grizzlies Game 1

Popular TV personality Stephen A. Smith slammed the officiating crew for the Golden State Warriors-Memphis Grizzlies Game 1 contest in the 2022 NBA playoffs for ejecting Draymond Green.

Green tried to swipe the ball off Clarke's hands but ended up hitting the latter's head instead. As Clarke came down, Draymond tried to hold the Grizzlies forward, trying to help him avoid an injury, which led to him catching hold of his jersey. The referees deemed the foul as unnecessary and excessive, leading them to assess a 'Flagrant 2,' which saw the former DPOY tossed out of the game.

Smith, among many others in the NBA fraternity, was infuriated by the decision. He shared his opinion on the matter on ESPN's Countdown show, saying:

"I think that's an utterly ridiculous decision by the officiating crew. I mean what are you doing, looking for continental tissue commercial and endorsements or something? This is utterly ridiculous here I mean it's a damn shame that this happened. You want to give him [Draymond Green] a tech, fine. He clearly tried to hold the person [Brandon Clarke] up. You're making a defensive play, it happens!"

Stephen A. Smith continued:

"To have the guy ejected and to compromise the potential outcome and to leave us in a position, where we're talking about the ejection as opposed to talking about two high-end competitors going after it, I think this tarnishes the level of competition that was out there today."

Here's a clip of Draymond Green's foul on Brandon Clarke (via Hoop Central on Twitter):

Golden State Warriors churn out a tough win on the road despite Draymond Green's second-half absence

The Golden State Warriors could have been in deep trouble after Draymond Green was tossed out of the game just before halftime. Draymond has been the heart and soul of the Dubs, and it has been difficult for them to grab wins in his absence this season.

The Warriors still managed to earn a close win over the Memphis Grizzlies on the road, though, getting off to the kind of start they were hoping for in this Western Conference semifinal series.

Jordan Poole continued his fine run in the playoffs, scoring 31 points, eight rebounds and nine assists off the bench. Steph Curry (24 points) and Klay Thompson (15 points) also made invaluable contributions to help the Dubs win the tie 117-116.

Curry and Thompson also came up with clutch defensive plays against Ja Morant, not allowing him to get the go-ahead basket for the Grizzlies on separate occasions with just 20 seconds left on the game clock. The Golden State Warriors will have Draymond Green back for the next game, so it will be interesting to see if the Grizzlies can make that encounter a close one as well.