Green doesn’t think other NBA players are officiated the same way he is

USA TODAY Sports

Rarely does a Golden State Warriors game go by without Draymond Green getting into some sort of dispute with the officials. This season alone, he has been assessed 10 technical fouls, four ejections and two suspensions totalling 17 games due to his behavior on the court. On Tuesday, however, he alleges that it was one of his opponents that deserved a closer look from the referees.

In the third quarter of Golden State’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Green attempted to contest an Austin Reaves layup. Reaves finished over him, and Green crumpled to the ground afterward in apparent pain. No foul was called. While the replay did show a bit of an elbow swing from Reaves, the contact appeared minimal.

Green expressed his aggravation towards the officials in the moment, and after the game, he alleged a double standard in the way he and his opponents are officiated. “I hit somebody in the face, I get thrown under the jail. When I get hit, we don’t see it,” Green said after the game. “… When I blow my breath on someone, they’re reviewing it for a flagrant foul.”

The reality is somewhat more complicated. Even under the best of circumstances, it would be impossible for officials to see everything that happens in the traffic near the rim. Green has both benefitted from and been victimized by that reality. It’s simply easier to see fouls in the open space of the perimeter than it is to see them in crowds. Not every foul is going to get called. That feels especially true now, as fouls across the league are down. The Celtics and Bucks played a game on Tuesday in which they combined to attempt only two free throws.

But the league office has been open about the fact that Green’s history of disciplinary issues affects the way that they evaluate punishment whenever he gets into a new scrape. Realistically, it would be impossible for officials not to treat Green the same way. When a player is known for existing on the line between physical play and outright illegal and occasionally dirty play, officials are probably going to pay that player more attention than they would others. Strictly speaking, that isn’t fair and it isn’t how officials are supposed to act, but it’s human nature.

When Green is disciplined, it is frankly for plays that are far more severe than this one was. His two suspensions this season were the result of putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold and hitting Jusuf Nurkic with a full windup. Those plays just aren’t comparable to this one or any of the plays that occur in the normal course of a basketball game. That doesn’t mean Green is incapable of getting fouled himself. It does mean that officials are going to watch him more closely than most players because history has told them they have to.