“People wanna try to make it out to be a controversy… Nobody’s paying to watch this stuff” - Draymond Green says he doesn’t worry about getting thrown out, says the referees are not sparing him

Several hours after Draymond Green caused an uproar among Boston Celtics fans, the Golden State Warriors’ defensive ace came out with his latest podcast. A potential game, if not a series-changing non-call on Green in the second quarter against the Celtics, had social media buzzing.

The former Defensive Player of the Year had a scuffle with Jaylen Brown that ended without a double technical penalty. Had a technical foul been assessed on both, that would have been the second for Green, which would have resulted in an automatic ejection.

On his podcast, Draymond Green matter-of-factly gave his thoughts on the incident:

“People wanna try to make it out to be a controversy…Nobody’s paying to watch this stuff to see guys get thrown out the game and not see the game you want to watch! Nobody’s sparing me, nor do I expect to get spared nor do I want to be spared. But if it’s something that’s not egregious, probably shouldn’t get thrown out the game.”

What made the non-call controversial was ESPN’s rules analyst Steve Javie’s forecast of what would happen during the review. Javie stressed that the refs would consider Green’s previous foul and would likely let the technical penalty slide for him to avoid ejection.

Javie, who was an NBA referee for more than two decades, was on the money with his analysis. The referees couldn't see, in their review, anything that would constitute a technical foul for both. What made the non-call even more disturbing was that the tussle that earned Green his first technical wasn’t on the same level as the second incident.

The four-time All-Star also emphasized that even if he was in danger of getting ejected, he wasn’t going to change his approach to the game:

“I don’t play the game worried about getting thrown out or not. I play the game ultimately chasing the level of physicality that I want the game to be at and however you gotta get that done, you get that done."

Draymond Green was adamant that keeping his intensity and physicality down was out of the question:

"If I’m gonna tread carefully or walk lightly then I may as well get thrown out anyway cause that’s not going to help my team win. I have to be me for my team, and I thought that was very important.”

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Draymond Green asserts that he will not change his style of basketball for any reason

Some Golden State Warriors fans are wary that Draymond Green's antics could cost them another title. [Photo: New York Times]

While Dub Nation couldn’t care less about what Boston Celtics fans are feeling, some are also worried Draymond Green could cause a repeat of 2016. Warriors fans may still have nightmares of their team collapsing against the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers after leading 1-3 in the NBA Finals.

Due to an accumulation of technical fouls, Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals. To this day, Warriors fans consider his suspension as a turning point in the series. It was the spark that the Cavs were looking for after getting outplayed at the start of the series.

Draymond Green, on the same podcast, reiterated his stance that he will not change how he plays regardless of the cost:

“Ten years in, I ain’t change up to this point. Why change now!? Three championships later, four All-Stars later, seven All-Defensive teams later, why change now!?"

Green added:

"Being who you want me to be or who you think I should be don’t work for me. But being who I am and who I know I am and staying true to that works for me.”