2017 NBA Finals: Conspiracy? Draymond Green comes so close to getting ejected
Draymond Green looked as if he had gotten an ejection in the third quarter of Game 4, but an apparent referee miscommunication kept him in the game.
Draymond Green has become notorious for losing his cool in the NBA Finals, and it looked like he had officially gotten kicked out of Game 4 of this year’s series on a late technical foul.
In an incident in the first half, it looked like Draymond Green had gotten his first technical foul of the night for the Golden State Warriors, after getting physical with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Iman Shumpert on a tip-off, and then losing his cool after the scuffle.
Then, in the third quarter, Green got called for a foul, and almost immediately got another tech for his troubles, which most in the arena and on the broadcast (rightfully) assumed was the forward’s second of the night, enough for an ejection.
Draymond Green was initially thought to be ejected. Now it's being reported Steve Kerr received one of the 2 issued technicals...what a mess pic.twitter.com/udXpw1syDD
— KNBR (@KNBR) June 10, 2017
Then, chaos ensued. It was reported that the first half technical was given to Steve Kerr, even after materials to the press had listed that the foul was on Green.
Doris Burke reported that those working the scorer’s table had said they were told the technical foul call in the first half was on Green. It wasn’t until that second technical that an official came over and told them that the first had actually been on Kerr.
Plenty of sketchy stuff has come out on social media about the weird situation, starting with some weird magic being done on the play-by-play feed for the game.
Our play-by-play feed is conspicuously missing whom the Draymond Green/Steve Kerr first quarter technical foul was called on. https://t.co/ITKmqqMsxA
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) June 10, 2017
Sam Amick, an NBA reporter for the USA Today, tweeted that the press information given to reporters had listed the foul was on Green in the first quarter.
First half box we were given on press row, for what it's worth. Clearly states Draymond had been given that 1st quarter tech pic.twitter.com/wwDhCeophJ
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 10, 2017
Even Draymond Green’s mom was pretty sure something fishy was going on.
https://twitter.com/BabersGreen/status/873376710246486021
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Either way, the whole situation is and was an absolute mess on and off the court. If the Warriors come back from their large deficit, and especially if Green plays a big role in the team’s win, this could be one of those conspiracies that gets talked about for a loooooooong time.