Getty Draymond Green complains about a call during a game against the Utah Jazz.
Just days after potentially costing the Golden State Warriors a win while arguing a late call, Draymond Green took a more scientific approach in getting his point across to a referee.
Video from Tuesday’s win over the Indiana Pacers showed Green making reference to Isaac Newton’s first law of motion in explaining why he couldn’t have committed a foul that had been called on him. While he wasn’t successful in convincing the referee to overturn the call, he did get some viral attention for his citation of physics in the argument.
Green Cites Law of Inertia
With 4:34 remaining in the third quarter, Green was whistled for a shooting foul on Myles Turner. As the Pacers big man went to the line where he would sink both free throws, Green went to work on the referee.
The broadcast cameras caught Green pleading his case to crew chief Tony Brothers between free throws. While the audio didn’t catch everything Green said as he tried to convince Brothers that he hadn’t committed a foul, it was clear when the Warriors big man cited the law of physics saying that a body at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by a force.
“Think about it!” Green pleaded to Brothers. “Inertia!”
“Think about it, inertia” – Draymond Green now using the laws of physics to complain about calls now
The call didn’t end up impacting the outcome of the game, as the Warriors went on to win their second in a row to move to 18-15.
Green’s Previous Outburst May Have Cost Team a Win
Green had much more disastrous results when he tried to argue a call against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. With less than 10 seconds remaining and his team clinging to a 100-98 lead, Green was issued a pair of technical fouls while arguing over a timeout granted to the Hornets during a battle for a loose ball. Green had jumped to the floor in an attempt to tie up Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward, but referees awarded a timeout to Charlotte instead of a jump ball.
Referees would eject Green for his outburst, and the Hornets hit both free throws to tie the game. Hornets guard Terry Rozier then sank a contested shot from the left wing to win the game at the buzzer.
Draymond Green was ejected with nine seconds left and a two-point Warriors lead.
A wild sequence.
An official would explain that it was actually two separate outbursts that cost Green.
“His first technical was assessed when he directed profanity at his opponent,” crew chief Marc Davis told a pool reporter after the game, via ESPN. “He was assessed his first technical foul for verbally taunting an opponent. He then proceeded to direct screaming profanity at a game official and received his [second] technical foul and was ejected as per rule.”
The outburst got Green in hot water with head coach Steve Kerr, who said after the game that the big man took it too far.
“He crossed the line,” Kerr said, via ESPN. “That’s the main thing. We love his passion and his energy. We would not be the team we are without him, but that doesn’t give him license to cross that line, and he knows that.”
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