"If he had kicked him in the nether region, that would have been it" - Rich Eisen believes refs were right not to eject Draymond Green in Game 2, says you have to call the finals differently
Draymond Green sparked some controversy in the Golden State Warriors' win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals through his antics. Some people believe Green should have been called for a second technical foul and ejected late in the second quarter. However, Rich Eisen thinks the Finals should be called differently.
On a recent episode of "The Rich Eisen Show," he went on to defend Green's actions. Eisen pointed out that a technical foul call in regular season may not always be called in the Finals. He wants it called differently because of what's at stake.
"This is the NBA Finals," Eisen said. "You have to call it differently. ... If you keep on letting somebody do what they want, and it is normally any time of the year a technical foul. And somebody's already gotten the T (technical foul) that doesn't mean that they have to do something completely egregious in order to get that second technical."
Rich Eisen also revealed his opinion on what could cause a second technical foul call on Draymond Green. Eisen noted that Green only laid his feet on Jaylen Brown's back and did not warrant a technical foul. However, he believes that if Draymond kicked or hit him below the belt, it would have been an ejection.
"I guess, if instead of laying his feet on him, if he had kicked him in the nether region that would have been it," Eisen explained. "Because that's what happened before to him in an NBA Finals."
Here is the play in question. It happened with under a minute left in the second quarter. Draymond Green was called for a foul on Jaylen Brown. They got into a tussle, but no technical fouls were called. Earlier in the first quarter, Green was called for a technical foul after roughing up Grant Williams.
Should Draymond have been ejected here? https://t.co/gEiIij9dnD
Draymond Green comments on not getting called for second technical foul
After the Warriors destroyed the Boston Celtics in the second half to notch up a 107-88 win, Draymond Green talked about the controversy on his podcast. Green said that the referees turning a blind eye and letting him stay on the court "makes sense." He added that fans do not pay to watch players get ejected.
"The reality is, that makes sense," Green said. "People want to make it out to be a controversy. That makes sense. Nobody's paying to watch this stuff to see guys get thrown out of the game and you’re not seeing the game you wanted to watch. I understand and agree."
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is on Wednesday night at the TD Garden in Boston. The Warriors and Celtics are virtually in a must-win situation. The winners of the third game of the Finals have gone on to win the championship 82.1% of the time. The 2022 edition of the Finals is the 40th time that teams have split the first two games, as per NBC Sports Bay Area.