Warriors Beat:
Green, who has a reputation of his own, rips Boston’s Kelly Olynyk on his podcast as a dirty player.
SALT LAKE CITY — Draymond Green’s penchant for kicking opponents below the belt has earned him a reputation as one of the league’s dirtiest players.
The Warriors’ All-Star power forward has defended his signature leg kick, questioning anyone who doubts his motives. What is less debatable is how Green feels about Boston’s Kelly Olynyk.
During his latest Dray Day podcast, Green repeatedly called the Celtics’ center “dirty” and claimed that Olynyk intentionally tried to injure Cleveland power forward
Kevin Love during an incident in the 2015 playoffs in which Love dislocated his shoulder.
“Kelly Olynyk is a dirty player, man,” Green said on the podcast. “… He’s dirty. Dirty player, man. I don’t respect guys like that. I mean, I know he’s not like the greatest basketball player of all time, so maybe you feel like you’ve got to like do that, but you don’t, like — just dirty. Like, I don’t respect that, man — he’s dirty.”
Green, who in December was named the second-dirtiest player in NBA history by Fox Sports (behind only longtime San Antonio forward Bruce
Bowen), detailed the difference between someone who tries to bend the rules to his advantage and someone who tries to injure others.
“It’s a big difference between knowing all the tricks, because all the tricks ain’t doing stuff to hurt people,” Green said. “Like, come on, he really yanked (Love’s) shoulder out of place. I don’t roll with that, man . ...
“This dude be out there trying to hurt people. Man, I don’t rock with bruh like that.”
Green’s comments came after Olynyk received national attention last week for a run-in with Washington forward
Kelly Oubre Jr. During the Wizards’ Game 3 win over Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Oubre shoved Olynyk to the floor after being on the receiving end of what he thought was an overly hard, high screen.
The league suspended Oubre for one game. Entering Game 5 on Wednesday, the Wizards and Celtics are knotted at 2-2. Green’s criticism of Olynyk raises an intriguing question: What could happen if they face each other in the NBA Finals? Hill out: Utah point guard
George Hill missed his third straight game Monday night with a left big toe injury.
The decision was made after head coach Quin Snyder convened with the training staff in the lead-up to Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. One of the league’s more underrated facilitators, Hill is second on the team with 15.6 points per game in the playoffs. With Hill out, Shelvin
Mack again started at point guard and was the Jazz’s second-leading scorer with 18 points.