Warriors' Draymond Green looks to curtail technical fouls against Thunder
The Warriors' heart and soul knows he has to keep his emotions in check
By
Matt Moore
•
2 min read
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green leads all players in technical fouls during the NBA playoffs with four. He's an emotional player and struggles to contain his reactions to certain calls that are made. He also has a hard time not speaking on the calls post-game.
However, Green says he's resolved to curtail his antics leading into the Western Conference Finals vs. another emotional player in Russell Westbrook, who himself has three techs this postseason. From the AP:
"I'm not contesting any calls," he said. "No. Because if I contest a call, no matter how my approach is going to go then, it's going to change. I know me. I'm going to walk the other way and if they call a foul, 'Good call.' I'm not talking, nope."
Golden State's scrimmage Saturday was officiated by coaches Jarron Collins and Chris DeMarco, and even with all the bad calls, according to Barnes, Green bit his lip.
"They were calling terrible calls. I said: 'You know what? I'm not talking to y'all. I'm going to keep my cool, not talking to the referees. Just play basketball.' I was good today," Green said. "I've got to practice it now, though. It's habit. I'm working on it. That's something I have to focus on, and I haven't focused on it at all in this playoffs. But I'm focused on it now. Usually when I focus in on something, I can do pretty well at it, and I'm stubborn enough to do well at it because I have to prove to myself that I can do it. And I always want to prove whoever I'm trying to prove wrong, and in this case it's myself. I think I'm going to do a really good job with it."
Source: Draymond Green committed to cutting down his technicals.
Green's 100 percent right that there's no real impact from the complaints. Officials aren't going to say "Wow, you're really passionate about this. You know what? You're right. Let me change that." Green's heart-on-his-sleeve approach is part of the Warriors' formula for success, but finding the right balance will be key, especially when he's matched up vs. Westbrook, Kevin Durant, or Steven Adams.
It should also be noted that Green's physical play already earned him respect with the officials. Green is allowed to be handsy and physical with very few foul calls. Still, Green is seventh in the league in playoff fouls per game. He'll have to restrain himself and make sure he can stay on the floor vs. OKC.
