Former NBA champion pinpoints why 'Intimidator' Draymond Green's scuffles gets a refs pass
The scuffle between Draymond Green and Desmond Bane warranted the technical fouls that they received in the recent game between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies. Boston Celtics legend and former NBA champion Paul Pierce spoke on FS1's "Undisputed" about the altercation and explained why this kind of "intimidation" behavior from Green often gets a pass from the referees.
Initially, Draymond Green and Santi Aldama had a brief incident before the scuffle. After a layup, Aldama made a light shove on Green's side, resulting in the Warriors forward grabbing his jersey momentarily.
In response, Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins called a timeout after a three-point basket by Golden State to discuss his frustration and later got interrupted by Green and Bane's scuffle.
"Draymond is never going to lose his edge," Pierce said. "He's an intimidator, emotional leader and for certain he is the heart and soul.
"There's no suspension or fine that's going to stop him from being him. ... But when you've won doing this type of things, he has a longer leash than everyone and the refs know it," Pierce added.
Pierce highlighted that Draymond Green's impressive resume, including four NBA championships and his 2017 Defensive Player of the Year award, has earned him the kind of reputation that he has now.
Draymond Green talked about his scuffle with Desmond Bane
Following the Warriors' 137-116 win against the Grizzlies, Draymond Green gave credit to the altercation with the opposing team for energizing the Warriors to increase their intensity.
"I didn't really think there was a sequence," Green said. "I got grabbed and I snatched my arm away and I got a tech. It kind of woke our team up and we got going from there and never looked back.
"So shoutout to them, maybe they were trying to get me thrown out the game or something. It didn't work."
Heading into this game, the Golden State Warriors lost 119-112 to the New York Knicks on Monday night.
They are in 10th place (36-32) in the Western Conference standings, with the Houston Rockets in 11th place with their 33-35 record.
Given the kind of performance that they put out last night, the Warriors will need to match that level of energy in their final 14 games of the regular season.
With the Play-In Tournament looming close, Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors will have to maximize these kinds of games to secure must-win scenarios.