After finishing third in the league with 12 technical fouls last season, and getting suspended for the series-changing Game 5 of last year’s NBA finals after accumulating four flagrants throughout the postseason, Draymond Green is trying to tone things down.
That doesn’t mean he’s not playing with the same intensity or emotion, as Green only knows one speed. Rather, according to a report by ESPN’s Marc Spears, he’s making a conscious effort not to argue with the officials, something Draymond says lead to the vast majority of his techs last season.
So far, however, it’s not working. Green has already been T’d up twice in the Warriors first five games, both times for passionate yells that he claims were directed at no-one in particular. His first came in the season opener against the San Antonio Spurs, when Green gave his signature holler after a dunk that the refs believed was directed at LaMarcus Aldridge. He received his second last night against the Thunder, this time for screaming in excitement at a block by Kevin Durant.
“I got two techs this year for yelling, ‘Ahhh’?” Green told The Undefeated. “At this point, do I need to wear a mask? Am I allowed to show emotion on the floor? That’s who I am. I play with emotion.
“I love this game, so I’m going to show emotion. But if you yell, ‘Ahhh,’ after a dunk … I’ve never seen anyone get a tech for that.”
Green hopes both the technicals, which will cost him $2,000 a piece, will be rescinded by the NBA and expects Warriors executive Bob Myers to call the league on his behalf.
“I look forward to getting an explanation on the first and the second one,” Green said. “You can’t yell after a good play? So I’m looking for an explanation for both. I think they both should get rescinded. They said I was disrespecting the referees.
“All right, I’m not talking to them no more. But now you want to give me a tech for yells? It’s not like I’m standing in someone’s face yelling.”
If Green continues to get T’d for yelling, something he does every game, expect him to shatter Rasheed Wallace’s single-season record of 41.