puis dans la liste qui s’affiche, cliquez sur AdBlock
Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif
Already guilty of controversial and sanctioned gestures during the series against Houston, Draymond Green will now be under close scrutiny against Rudy Gobert’s Timberwolves. With this in mind, he affirms his commitment to his team-mates.
We didn’t have to wait until his thirteenth season in the league to discover his bad side. Extremely valuable for Golden State over the years, Draymond Green can also get his team into trouble. His moody gestures and other low blows regularly earn him heavy punishment from the refereeing body, as was the case again in recent days against the Rockets.
Draymond Green guarantees good behavior against Gobert
Winners of their series in the first round of the playoffs, the Warriors were nevertheless plagued by the misconduct of their interior. In the space of seven games against Houston, Draymond accumulated no less than four technical fouls and two flagrant fouls. The latest, whistled after illegal contact with Fred VanVleet, prompted a reaction from Steve Kerr in the press conference:
Steve Kerr: Draymond has a tendency to flail around on certain actions when someone fouls him. His instinctive reaction is to wave his arms, and sometimes that leads to contact like it did this (Sunday) night, and that earns him a technical foul or a flagrant foul. I’m not sure what to tell you about this, but obviously we’ll be discussing it before the start of the next series.
Indeed, a discussion seemed necessary in view of the situation. Green is, after all, dangerously close to a suspension, given that the league sanctions its players in this way after seven technical fouls or four flagrant fouls committed in the playoffs. The matchup that awaits him promises to be electric, pitting him against one of his greatest rivals, Rudy Gobert.
Nobody has forgotten the violent clash between the two men in November 2023. Not even Draymond’s team-mates, who may have feared a recurrence on his part. However, the main man involved has taken it upon himself to reassure them with a promise reported by Anthony Slater of The Athletic:
Draymond Green: I have to be able to stay calm for my teammates and not worry about anyone else. I’m going to be 100% focused. Keeping this balance and staying within acceptable limits is something important for me and my team. I gave my word to my partners and I’m going to honour it.
While waiting to see whether this commitment will be honored, the Wolves coach was keen to warn Gobert ahead of this duel. Everyone seems to have been warned.
