OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Golden State forward Draymond Green was fined $50,000 by the NBA on Thursday for directing inappropriate and offensive language toward a game official two days earlier, and he was hardly the only member of the Warriors to lose his cool.
Green was ejected with 8:13 remaining in the game after a second technical for arguing with the officials, specifically female referee Lauren Holtkamp. The NBA said the specific incident for which he was penalized came in the second quarter of the Warriors’ 125-105 home loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.
The defending champion Warriors had five technicals in all, prompting general manager Bob Myers to address the topic with the team Thursday ahead of a home game against Dallas.
“With great expectations comes great scrutiny. So how do we live in that? What’s the best way to be in that?” Myers said. “So, empathetic toward the role and the place they have in all this as players as the most visible parts of our organization, the most important parts. Just kind of bringing that out and reminding them.”
Green had two, coach Steve Kerr one, and Andre Iguodala and David West the two others.
On Thursday night, Green got hit with his 14th technical of the season - two away from an automatic suspension - in the second quarter for arguing after a delay of game warning.
“It’s not a good look,” Kerr said reiterating Myers’ words. “We need to look more professional, to act more professional and to be more poised and to represent our team in a better light. I don’t think we’ve been doing a good job of that lately.”
Green, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, received dental work Wednesday after being hit in the mouth and bloodied in a collision with Jerami Grant. Green said he will wear clear braces for a couple of weeks.
Green said dentists will monitor his tooth.
“It hasn’t died. Hopefully it stays alive,” he said.
Last month, Green was fined $25,000 for criticizing the NBA’s officiating. He’s averaging 11.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 47 games this season.
Going into Thursday games, Golden State’s nine ejections led the NBA and their 46 technicals ranked third.
Kerr has five technicals.
“I am as guilty as anybody,” Kerr said. “I think we all need to do a much better job of staying poised. I don’t like the look of the constant complaining, myself included. I think we’ve got to get better. I didn’t know anything about the Draymond incident. … Just in general on the technicals, on the behavior, we’ve got to get more poised and take care of our own business and focus on our play and not anything else.”
Myers doesn’t want his coach or the fiery Green to change.
“It’s hard because we want competitive people,” Myers said. “One of my favorite things about Steve Kerr and Draymond is it’s a deep, deep competitiveness and so that’s fantastic. That’s what we want, but at the same time, how do you channel that appropriately? How do I do it? How do they do it? How do any of us that have that inside of us live in that, in great competition, with great emotion? I do understand when it boils over. They’re human beings, too.”
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