Draymond Green had everyone talking after Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Celtics.
Green was fine on the court Sunday night, dropping nine points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. But it was Green’s highly physical style of play that had the basketball world buzzing, and one could argue the three-time champion should have been ejected before halftime.
Basketball Hall of Famer Robert Parish believes Green is playing a dangerous game by toeing the line. The former Celtics big man broke down his line of thinking Tuesday on “Merloni, Fauria & Mego.”
“Both sides know that Draymond is a contrarian. Like I said, he’s a troublemaker, in my opinion,” Parish said, as transcribed by WEEI. “He’s a fingernail away from letting his teammates down. In my opinion, he shows up the officials, and you cannot do that. They had to warn him. He was trying to start trouble with different Celtics players, trying to get them to do something out of character. Trying to provoke them to do something detrimental to their team. He kind of reminds me of Dennis Rodman a little bit, how he provokes: keep poking the dog, poking the dog. But sooner or later, the dog is going to bite you.”
It doesn’t seem like Green believes he dodged a bullet in Game 2, nor is he worried about the refs shortening their leash with him moving forward. The four-time All-Star after Sunday’s game acknowledged officials typically treat him differently than most players.
We’ll see how much rope Green is given Wednesday night when the Warriors and the Celtics meet for Game 3. Tipoff from TD Garden is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
