Warriors survive latest Draymond Green ejection with season on the brink

Is Green the victim of targeting from the officials, or making self-inflicted mistakes?

In the Golden State Warriors’ 101-93 victory over the Orlando Magic Wednesday night, there was a shocking moment in the first quarter involving Draymond Green getting ejected. After he took umbrage to a ref’s call, he ended up exchanging some words with the officials that led to them having enough of him and casting him off the court for the evening.

The Warriors found a way to survive without him in this must win contest, but there was a tense moment in the media aftermath of the ejection where his teammate Steph Curry had probably the most visceral exasperation response I’ve seen him have after a Green shenanigan.

Now, folks who have been watching Green over the years know that he’s been described as the heartbeat of the Warriors’ dynasty, the perfect jack-of-all-trades complement to the Splash Bros who has been a Defensive Player of the Year and de facto offensive facilitator. He’s a powerful leader, able to galvanize the troops in hostile territory and stir up Dub Nation into a frenzy when the Warriors are at home in Chase Center.

He’s also a notorious trash talker and physical player who finds himself on the bad side of NBA referees often enough that he’s been ejected and suspended repeatedly.

Draymond Green was reinstated by the NBA from his suspension on Saturday after the Golden State star missed 12 games for hitting Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Dec. 12.

The league said Green “demonstrated his commitment to conforming his conduct to standards expected of NBA players” during his suspension, which began Dec. 14. He has met with a counselor as well as had multiple joint meetings with representatives of the league, the Warriors and the National Basketball Players Association.

Those meetings, the league added, will continue throughout the season.

That’s why in his return from suspension this season, there seemed to be a different level of exasperation from the fans and pundits about Green’s antics crossing the line. Apparently all those meetings weren’t enough to keep Green from speaking his mind to the refs enough to trigger them into hitting him with the techs. And social media comments were, per usual, FLOWING!

But ultimately all that matters is that his teammates and coaching staff trust him to deliver as he’s done so many times in the past to make the Golden State Warriors a historically dominant franchise.