Warriors' Draymond Green draws 17th technical but dodges suspension
Draymond Green's 17th technical will cost him $5K. If a replay review had gone differently, it could have been a lot worse.
Green and Brandon Ingram got double technicals after jawing at one another following a hard foul by Green. Afterward, a replay review upgraded the foul to a flagrant one, putting Green one technical - or one flagrant - away from an ejection.
It looked like he might be in danger of a second technical for continuing to yell at the refs, but they don't ring you up simply for shouting "How?"
Twenty seconds later, Green was called for an offensive foul for bowling over Herbert Jones. And while Green's legs may have simply been out of control, it certainly looked like he kicked at Jones. Perhaps due to the relative softness of the earlier technical, the officials decided after a review that this play was merely a common foul. That kept Green in the game and kept him from an 18th technical and the accompanying one-game suspension.
The Warriors were inspired by Green's insane aggressiveness and trash talk, storming back from 20 points down to outscore New Orleans 74-46 in the second half.
Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Green "willed them to victory," in part by, well, yelling at everybody.
Green agreed but insisted that he's one of the only NBA players who would still talk trash in that game situation.
"We were down 20," he said in his postgame interview. "It takes a real one to talk when you're down 20."
While Green's enthusiasm was needed, they also needed moderation. Enter general manager Bob Myers, who calmed Green down after he was called for a charge in the fourth quarter, which wiped out a three-pointer.
It turned out to be the right decision, as Kerr later used his challenge to get the Warriors an extra possession by reversing an out-of-bounds call.
Green is still in danger of a suspension if he gets another technical in the season's final five games. While the $5K fine for his 17th technical isn't nothing, he would lose a game check of $178K if he gets suspended. For the stretch run, Green needs to stop putting his mouth where his money is.
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