Draymond Green rips referees for 'ruining the game'
With the reliability of a Steph Curry jump shot or a Russell Westbrook triple-double, we can always count on Draymond Green to speak his mind.
Especially when it comes to officiating.
The Warriors’ all-star forward is filling up the stat sheet again this year, averaging 10.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists per night for the defending champs.
Unfortunately, he’s also piling up the technical fouls, leading the entire league with 15 not even halfway through the season.
Green is known for playing with a chip on his shoulder, but he told The Athletic that it’s the officials who are to blame.
“It’s bad, it’s horrible,” Green said. “It’s really bad. I don’t know why it is. But I think it’s ridiculous. It’s ruining the game. It should be one of, if not the main priority, to be solved. It definitely should.
“A lot of it is personal. When you give someone so much authority and they make it me against you, you can’t overcome that.”
Before we dismiss this as another wild rant by the emotional Green, realize that he’s not alone in his thoughts.
Oklahoma City veteran Patrick Patterson was fined $10,000 for a Dec. 30 tweet in which he was critical of the officiating this season.
“They’ve been s–t this year,” Patterson said. “There needs to be some kind of consequence for their downright awfulness rather than pointless apologies from their bosses.”
Patterson’s tweet came a day after Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo hit the game-winning basket against Oklahoma City on a drive along the baseline which officials allowed even though replays showed Antetokounmpo clearly had stepped out of bounds on the play.
And in the league’s marquee game to date — Golden State’s Christmas Day win over Cleveland — the key play in that game came when LeBron James drove to the hoop late and appeared to be fouled twice by the Warriors’ Kevin Durant. No fouls were called, resulting in a key turnover and sparking an angry outburst from James after the game about the questionable non-call.
Relations between players and officials have been a noticeable problem this season.
Last month, representatives for both sides met to discuss the issue.
When asked what the league can do to improve the situation, Green offered a less-than-diplomatic solution.
“They can get a new crop (of referees), a whole new crop,” Green said. “Too many personal things going on. Too much me-against-you. It just don’t work that way.”
In the meantime, Golden State may be best served trying to cool down its star — with his next technical foul comes an automatic one-game suspension.
Losing Green for one game isn’t a big deal, but after his 16th technical foul, a player is suspended one game for every two technicals he accumulates.
The Warriors have 42 games remaining, so Green’s temper could be worth watching.
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