Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was whistled for a technical foul in Game 4 of their NBA Finals series against the Toronto Raptors.
Surprisingly, it is only his first technical since Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals matchup against the Houston Rockets. At that point, Green had already accumulated four and only needed three more to get an automatic suspension. With so many technicals that early, many expected the fiery Warrior to get suspended within the next few games of that series – but Green managed to stay disciplined and never got whistled for one well until Friday night in the Finals.
Draymond Green's first technical since the Rockets series. That had been stewing all night.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) June 8, 2019
Unfortunately, this still means that Green is just two techs away from a one-game suspension.
With that Tech, Draymond Green now has 5 playoff technical fouls putting him two more from an automatic one-game suspension. #NBAFinals@NBATV
— Jared Greenberg (@JaredSGreenberg) June 8, 2019
With just three games left (assuming it goes the distance) in the series, that may seem improbable but it's hard to tell with the quick-tempered Green. He did prove after all that getting a quick pair is possible but then he's also shown he can keep his emotions bottled up although that would be a little difficult as the pressure mounts.
If a suspension does happen, the Warriors would be digging themselves a deeper hole. Despite the returns of Kevon Looney and Klay Thompson in Game 4, their superstar (and arguably best player) Kevin Durant still sidelined indefinitely. Even though Green isn't a scoring machine, the absence of his all-around impact especially defensively would be as big of a loss.
For now, the Warriors would rather wish that he keep his cool moving forward as they try to stave off the Raptors and go for their third championship.
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