Jeff Van Gundy thinks it’s great when NBA officials provide dirty players with more room to needle the opposition.
Good to know!
The refs didn't do the Celtics any favors in Game 2
Late in the second quarter Sunday, Draymond Green fouled Jaylen Brown on a three-point attempt. As they fell to the floor, Green laid his legs across Brown’s body and made no effort to get them off. That prompted Brown to try and lift Green’s legs off him. Green responded with some shoving.
Under usual circumstances, that would seem to be a pretty clear technical foul. But Green was already whistled for one in the first quarter, when he needlessly kept jawing at Grant Williams after benefitting from a questionable call.
Van Gundy recognized that Green should’ve been slapped with another technical for his altercation with Brown, which would’ve resulted in his ejection. “In the normal course of a game, this would be a Double T," Van Gundy said.
It’s debatable whether Brown should’ve received a technical, given that Green initiated the contact. But still, Van Gundy acknowledged Green was deserving of another penalty … in the “normal course of a game.”
But apparently, that was not the “normal course of a game,” because Green already had a technical. ESPN officiating analyst Steve Javie admitted that’s probably why the officials allowed Green to get away with his antics.
“You have to consider one player has definitely a technical foul,” Javie said. “Is this enough to call a double T and eject the one player? Personally, I would say nothing and just let it defuse as that.”
That’s pretty remarkable. On national TV, a longtime NBA official acknowledged fouls get called depending on the circumstance. It was the quintessential saying-the-quiet-part-out-loud moment.
Van Gundy was in complete agreement with Javie when he followed up.
“A lot of people disagree with that, Steve, but I think that’s what separates outstanding officiating, knowing all of the circumstances, and ones who just call it by the book,” he said. “I know Mark [Jackson] disagrees with me, but I don’t care. I’m sticking to my guns.”
Shortly thereafter, Van Gundy said Green receives “more leeway” than other players, so at least he’s not blind to the uneven reality.
Too bad he endorses it.