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The Golden State Warriors had an up-and-down start against the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. In fact, they trailed for majority of the time in the first half before asserting their dominance in the second.
One controversial call, or maybe better described as a non-call, could have been a key factor in allowing Golden State to tie the series at two apiece. Draymond Green and Jaylen Brown got heated during a second quarter sequence wherein they got tangled up on the floor.
The Warriors star fouled Brown on a three-point attempt then had his legs on the Celtics wing as he tried to get up. Tempers flared for a moment with no technicals called, sparing Draymond from his second tech and a subsequent ejection.
NBA veteran and part-time analyst CJ McCollum weighed in on the situation in Warriors-Celtics Game 2. The New Orleans Pelicans guard agreed with the eventual ruling, in that no technical should have been called.
“The referees job is to monitor the game, not control it. I thought they did a great job of monitoring the situation. Was it extra? Absolutely. Did it deserve a technical? Absolutely not. Not in the NBA Finals. Not in this situation,” said McCollum on First Take.
McCollum then went on to admit that Draymond Green does get an extended leash when it comes to drawing technical fouls. The fiery Warriors defender gets called for them so often that referees likely hold their whistles else call him out much more often than fans would prefer. He also claims Jaylen Brown could have pushed his buttons a little more to force the referees' hands.
“Draymond knows he can get away with a little bit more than most because of his personality, his reputation as J.J. referenced before but also the way he plays, it's well known. I think Jaylen Brown, understanding the circumstances of the situation, didn't like it. … I think Jaylen could have escalated the situation more to kind of draw more attention to it and potentially get Draymond that second technical,” McCollum continued.
NBA fans were buzzing on Twitter on the incident with the referees ruling in favor of keeping the Warriors star in the game. Celtics fans can simply take comfort in the fact that their boys return to Boston with that desired 1-1 split.
