During Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green and Trevor Ariza were hit with double-technicals after a sequence of events transpired that ended with both players jawing at one another.
It all started when Green sort of tackled Ariza down in the post. And quite honestly, it seemed like much ado about nothing when it happened at first, but then Ariza said some not-so-nice things to Green and shoved him, sparking the fire.
Here’s a video of the entire sequence.
Double techs for Ariza and Draymond. pic.twitter.com/3N27Inpqao
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 21, 2018
While Green deservedly carries a reputation for being a dirty player (here’s a great example why he deserves it), this wasn’t one of those instances in which he did anything egregious.
Sure, Ariza probably didn’t like being taken down, but it was clear that Green wasn’t doing anything malicious.
So, when both players were hit with technical fouls, it was surprising to many.
Now, we can count Warriors head coach Steve Kerr among that group. On Monday, he said, “I thought it was unfair,” and said the Warriors would be reaching out to the league to try and get the technical foul rescinded, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Given Green’s reputation and penchant for racking up technical fouls, it’s going to be interesting to see how the league responds.