"I have strong belief that if I play Game 5, we win Game 5," Green said Wednesday, per CSN Bay Area's Monte Poole.
The NBA suspended the 2016 All-Star for one game based on flagrant-foul accumulation. The league retroactively gave Green a flagrant-1 foul for his swing at LeBron James' groin in Game 4:
Without their versatile forward, the Warriors fell 112-97 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, though they still lead the series 3-2.
"Me not being on the floor to battle with my guys is being a bad teammate," Green said, per The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears.
"I told him you don't owe anyone an apology," head coach Steve Kerr said Thursday, per GSW Fast Break. "Without you, we're not even here. We'd be on vacation."
Green wasn't allowed to be in Oracle Arena during the game, so he headed next door to the Oakland Coliseum, where he saw the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 14-5:
He described having to watch the NBA Finals on television at the baseball stadium as "brutal" and "one of the weirdest things ever," per Poole.
"When you say, 'I want to be a Warrior forever,' like that's the stuff that go a long ways," Green said of Warriors general manager Bob Myers watching Game 5 with him, per Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group.
Green will be available for Golden State in Game 6 on Thursday night. The Warriors have already taken one game in Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena, so they are more than capable of going into enemy territory at full strength and securing their second straight title.
If the series goes seven games, few would bet against the reigning champions at Oracle Arena.
Green's suspension may have helped the Cavs stay alive, but it likely won't serve as a massive turning point in the NBA Finals.
