To be technical, Green remains his volatile self
Across nearly two decades of a coaching career that has spanned six NBA teams, Mike Brown has come to appreciate the varying approaches of elite players.
Kobe Bryant, who played under Brown for a season-plus with the Lakers, treated preseason exhibitions the same as the NBA Finals. A Brown protege for five seasons in Cleveland, LeBron James was fueled by the desire to help his teammates.
Now, in his first year as the Warriors’ lead assistant, Brown already recognizes an important truth about Draymond Green. A brash, emotional leader, Green is at his best when playing the villain. Try to rein in his bravado, and you risk diminishing his greatness.
“You’ve got to let him be him,” Brown said. “If something happens from time to time, you live with it.”
This is why Golden State’s coaching staff hardly frets that Green is tied for fourth in the league
with seven technical fouls. In a similar situation, other players might adjust their behavior to avoid mounting fines and an eventual suspension. Green, who feasts on any perceived slight, refuses to deviate from his spirited ways.
Within the past eight weeks, he has credited seemingly innocuous quotes from Portland’s Damian Lillard, New York’s Kristaps Porzingis and Utah head coach Quin Snyder for sparking his memorable performances against each team. Green views the growing perception that referees are targeting him as more motivation — not a reason to change.
“A lot of guys get home at night, and they’re exhausted from acting all day,” Green said. “I only know how to be Draymond. That’s who I’ve been my entire life, that’s who I’ll continue to be. I won’t be exhausted from acting when I get home.”
It is understandable if officials are wary of Green. During the 2016 Western Conference Finals, he twice nailed Oklahoma City center Steven Adams in the groin, once with a knee, once with a foot. In the NBA Finals against Cleveland, after hitting James in the groin, Green was suspended for Game 5. Many considered his absence the turning point as the Warriors blew a 3-1 series lead.
Because of those technical-foul troubles, Green entered this season intent on limiting his banter with referees. It hasn’t helped much. In the Warriors’ season opener against San Antonio, he was assessed a technical for screaming after a dunk. Again exultant, Green received a technical little more than a week later for yelling after a block by Kevin Durant.
In a Dec. 1 loss to Houston, Green was assessed a Flagrant 1 for kicking James Harden in the face while Green came down on a putback attempt. Green got another technical last week for hanging on the rim after a dunk.
Early in Sunday’s loss to Cleveland, after getting called for a second foul, he was assessed a technical for angrily storming to the bench. It seemed a sort of breaking point for Green, who unleashed on the officials several times the rest of the way. He was still visibly frustrated when he cut his postgame interview short after answering one question about Golden State’s late collapse.
“I never was the one to try to rein a guy in for his passion for the game,” Durant said. “He got a few techs for screaming, beating his chest, walking away fast. I think if the refs feel like you show them up or embarrass them in front of everybody, they could just throw a tech on you.
“We don’t want to harness him, put a muzzle on what he does for our team, the energy he brings.”
Added head coach Steve Kerr: “I’m not worried.”
Though his scoring and shooting percentages are down significantly playing alongside Durant, Green remains one of the Warriors’ most indispensable players. He leads the team in rebounds (8.7 per game), assists (7.3) and steals (2.2). An early front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year, Green’s crunch-time stops have helped preserve four wins.
His tenacity has been a driving force behind his club’s rise to its championship and regular contention. Because Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are reserved by nature, Green is a necessary spark plug. It was no surprise that, with Green gone for the birth of his son, the Warriors were out of sorts Thursday as they dug a 16-point halftime hole against the Nets before taking control in the second half for a victory.
“That’s why he’s extremely important for us, because he’s that one guy that’s very vocal on the team,” said Brown, who has taken over Luke Walton’s unofficial role this season as Green’s go-to mentor. “We expect to see and feel that fire on a day-in, day-out basis.”
Even if it means the occasional technical foul.