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Blake Griffin wasn't buying his teammate Andre Drummond's ejection late in the third quarter of Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks, as the Detroit Pistons lost their best scorer and rebounder with Griffin out to injury.
Drummond pushed Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the play after he gathered an offensive rebound, warranting a Flagrant 2 call and consequent ejection.
Andre Drummond Flagrant 2… EJECTED https://t.co/vORsKjIT3y
— the Sports ON Tap (@thesportsontap) April 15, 2019
“In a playoff game and someone gets pushed and it's a Flagrant 2? I thought that was bad,” said Griffin, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “I think it was a Flagrant, but I don't think Andre deserved to miss the rest of the game.”
Drummond did push with both of his arms and did so on a player that was bound to be airborne. The center did not aim to make a basketball play and made a clear unsportsmanlike action, making it a clear call for the officials.
It can be frustrating for Griffin, who now could potentially miss the entire series due to injury, as Drummond had a strong 12-point, 12-rebound double-double before exiting — although the outcome was nearly unavoidable.
The Pistons got smoked by the Bucks 121-86, and Drummond's presence alone wouldn't have changed that.
Besides facing a top seed with the best record in the league, the Motor City team clearly lacks the offensive firepower to go toe-to-toe against the Bucks, but having these sort of frustration calls from the team's best rebounder surely doesn't help their outlook in the series.
