The Golden State Warriors are supporting Draymond Green, who thinks that he is being unfairly targeted by officials. Green has been assessed two technical fouls this season, and Warriors general manager Bob Myers spoke to NBA vice president of basketball operations Kiki Vandeweghe about how he's being treated last Friday, via CSN Bay Area's Monte Poole:
They requested an audience with Kiki Vandeweghe, the NBA's discipline czar and the man who ultimately decided to suspend Green for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, who was at Staples Center for the Warriors-Lakers game Friday night.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers did speak with Vandeweghe, according to a team source. Coach Steve Kerr certainly believes a discussion is warranted, expressing hope that a meeting with Vandeweghe clears the air.
...
"I don't know if anything will change, and I can't do anything about it," Green said when asked if meeting with Vandeweghe might make a difference. "All I can do play. Just play my game and hope for the best."
Green's first technical foul came against the San Antonio Spurs in the season opener -- he yelled after a dunk. His second came against the Oklahoma City Thunder last week -- he yelled after Kevin Durant blocked Russell Westbrook's shot. Officials decided that in both incidents, he was taunting his opponent.
There's a difference between celebrating and taunting, and that's probably what Myers wanted to talk about with Vandeweghe. Every night, players yell and scream and, usually, they are not punished for it. Since Green has a reputation as an agitator, though, he does not usually get the benefit of the doubt.
Personally, I'm pro-yelling and pro-taunting, but I certainly understand that the league does not want to encourage players to show up the other team. For someone as demonstrative as Green, then, there is a dilemma: He wants to be himself, but he doesn't want to collect more technical fouls. The solution here is to be more careful with his celebrations, making sure that he's shouting to a teammate or to the crowd. That's not necessarily the sort of stuff he's thinking about, though, when he's fired up and in the heat of battle.
(HT: PBT)
