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During the last minute of the first half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown shot a three-pointer and was fouled by Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green. Both tumbled to the floor, and it looked like there were a lot of unnecessary things going on after the foul call was made.
Much was made about the exchange between Brown and Green. It was a minor scuffle, but the underlying issue was if it should have been a penalty on both, which would have ejected Green from the game since he had an earlier technical foul.
There has been a long list of players who have had to find other ways to contribute and overcome their limitations on the court. Guys like Patrick Beverley or Marcus Smart today have been known for that. They do provide a positive impact on the floor with high-level intensity on defense, but there are occasions when they would be labeled dirty. Green is no exception in this category.
Brown spoke about this after the game when reporters asked him about the collision with Green.
“On that situation, Draymond fouled me on a three and put his legs on my head or whatever,” Brown says after Game 2. “I tried to get up. But that’s what they’re going to do. That’s what he’s going to do. He’s going to try to muck the game up, try to raise the level of intensity.”
Brown Thinks It Could Have Warranted a Second Technical on Green
Asked if he knew if Green already had one technical, Brown said he was not too sure, but that he seemed to insinuate that was a dirty play.
“I feel like that was an illegal play. I feel like they could have called it, but they let it go in terms of a technical either way,” Brown says matter of fact. “But I don’t know what I was supposed to do there. Somebody got their legs on the top of your head and then he tried to pull my pants down. I don’t know what that was about.
That’s what Draymond Green does. He’ll do whatever it takes to win. He’ll pull you, he’ll grab you, he’ll try to muck the game up because that’s what he does for their team. It’s nothing to be surprised about.”
With Green being in the league for so long, it comes as no surprise, especially to someone like Brown, that the Dubs forward has made his name for himself in his league not by scoring, but for playing with the fire and passion his team desperately needs him to be. After all, Brown’s teammate Smart is exactly the same type of player as Green.
Green is the heart and soul of the Warriors. The Dubs need the same level of intensity from Green as they need offense from Stephen Curry.
Celtics’ Ime Udoka Was Not Surprised Green Didn’t Get Tossed
Boston head coach Ime Udoka was asked about the skirmish between Green and Brown, and if he was shocked a second technical was not assessed to Green.
“No, I was not surprised there was a double technical not called,” Udoka says after Game 2. “Not surprised at all. Due to the circumstances.”
The circumstances Udoka is referring to was vague, but it probably had to do with the fact the NBA did not want to risk the quality of the product being hurt at such a high stage of the Finals. Additionally, the league would want a longer series for financial reasons, so it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that they would do as much as they could do to extend the series.
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