Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted that striker Draymond Green “crossed the line” on Saturday night, when he was sent off in the final seconds of a 102-100 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
The wild sequence that led to Green’s expulsion began with 9.3 seconds left in regulation time, and the Warriors led 100-98 when guard Brad Wanamaker was tied for a jump by Hornets guard LaMelo Ball. After Gordon Hayward, the Hornets striker, cornered the ball and hit the ground, Green seemed to quickly tie Hayward for a jump. However, the Hornets received a timeout.
Green started arguing with the referees and was quickly charged with two technical fouls and sent off, giving the Hornets two free throws and the ball. Charlotte goalkeeper Terry Rozier stepped on the line and hit both free throws to score the 100.
A few seconds later, Rozier fired a corner kick to give the Hornets the victory.
“He crossed the line,” Kerr said of Green. “That’s the main thing. We love his passion and energy. We wouldn’t be the team we have without him, but that doesn’t allow him to cross that line and he knows it.”
“His first technique was evaluated when he cursed his opponent,” said Davis, who explained the mistake and is the Warriors’ chief of staff. “It was assessed as his first technical foul to verbally play an opponent. Then he continued to shout directly at a referee and received (the second) technical foul and was eliminated according to the rule,” he added.
Kerr said he “didn’t have time” for an explanation in the heat of the moment as the Warriors rushed to include Juan Toscano-Anderson in the game to replace Green.
But what upset Kerr and the Warriors staff happened in the pre-jump sequence between the two. Kerr said he asked for a timeout before Ball tied the Wanamaker to create the first jump.
“It’s a lot of relaxation,” Kerr said of the final seconds. “But if you just want to realize, it’s a very difficult decision about a fall that turns into a timeout jump. Especially since, in exactly the same situation, I was trying to resort to a timeout when Brad So, since exactly the same thing happened in a row, only we actually owned, I tried to call a timeout, and then, watching the replay after the game, it’s a hassle, it’s actually jumping off the floor. “Draymond throws himself after him; in my opinion, it should be another leap between the two.”
Davis explained that in the trial of the officials, the equality took place before Kerr requested a timeout. For his part, Wanamaker admitted that he did not hear Kerr calling for a timeout, but he was not sure how the sequence evolved.
“LaMelo ties Brad up before Kerr asks for time out,” Davis said. “The post-game video confirmed that this decision was judged correctly.”
It was a decision that the Warriors did not agree with, but it was a time for Green to take responsibility. Warriors striker Eric Paschall said that when the team returned to the locker room after the game, Green took the blame for the two late technical fouls.
“He said it was his fault,” Paschall added. “And he took over as always as a leader. We continue to “sway” with Dray no matter what. A great guy, a competitor, so everything is fine. We will learn from this and we will try to come back, try to win the next one. a great leader and competitor. “
As much as he respected Green’s Warriors teammates and coaches, Kerr was clearly frustrated by his inability to control his emotions late in the game. For years, Green has been the league’s leader in technical errors, expressing his objection to various calls from officials or words from opponents. But Kerr has said repeatedly over the years that he felt Green knew when not to cross a line. This time he did it again.