The often-controversial Draymond Green did not hesitate to give his hot take on Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk, who was recently involved in an altercation with Washington Wizards forward Kelly Oubre in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“He's dirty, a dirty player,” Green said of Olynyk in his “Dray Day Podcast,” per ESPN's Chris Haynes. “I don't respect guys like that. I know he's not the greatest basketball player of all time, so maybe he feel like he got to do that, but you don't have to do that. Just dirty. I don't respect that, man. He's dirty.”
The Celtics and the Golden State Warriors have been in multiple heated battles the past two seasons, despite playing in different conferences, making it a point of emphasis after the Warriors were beaten by them last season and they claimed to have figured out the formula to beat them.
Green disagreed with the officiating decision which got Oubre immediately ejected and consequently suspended for Game 4 of the series without having reviewed the prior screens Olynyk had set.
“Kelly Olynyk is a dirty player, man,” Green continued. “Olynyk caught him [Oubre] in the face and the neck with a couple of elbows. That's what I don't understand. You let people get away with stuff, and then when somebody finally react … you penalize that guy. But you are not going to penalize him [Olynyk] for continually elbowing him the face. … I don't get that.”
While Olynyk's screen was legal to the letter of the rule, he's developed a reputation as a dirty player, undercutting players while challenging shots and extending his leg just enough to cause knee-to-thigh contact on smaller guards.
The particular screen which Oubre was hit with was legal, but in the eyes of many other players, his reputation precedes him and doesn't give him that benefit of the doubt.
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