Draymond Green isn't exactly known for his restraint. He is among the league leaders in technical fouls almost every year, and his temper has even gotten him suspended in the middle of the postseason. Even by his standards, though, what happened on Thursday was impressive.
His Golden State Warriors are playing out the final months of a lost season. In town are the Los Angeles Lakers, holders of the Western Conference's No. 1 record, but without longtime Golden State nemesis LeBron James, who is nursing a groin injury. If ever there was a night to chill, it was Thursday. Alas, Green would not chill. It started with 5:56 remaining in the second quarter. He and Dwight Howard got tangled up underneath the basket, and Green thought the officials needed to hear his side of the story.
Apparently unsatisfied with their decision, Green and Howard went at it again. This time, with Green on the ground, he left his leg out seemingly with the intent to trip Howard. That earned him his second technical foul ... 11 seconds of game time after his first. With two technical fouls, he was ejected from the game.
Now back to James. He sat out with a groin injury, but traveled with the team to San Francisco and watched from the bench. In an apparent effort to avoid Green's wrath as he exited the floor area, he hid behind teammate Troy Daniels, laughing all the while.
Although the moment might have been funny from the Lakers' perspective, Green is now again within range of a suspension. He now has 14 technical fouls on the season. An automatic suspension is issued at 16. The Warriors wouldn't exactly miss him with their playoff chances already dead, but Green would probably prefer not to lose a paycheck, or be laughed at by one of his greatest rivals.