Draymond Green defended his physical approach against Khaman Maluach, saying the foul was necessary to maintain his authority as Golden State’s defensive anchor.
“Some of those fouls just had to happen. Like they just have to,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “In order to command the respect that you must command in order to protect a rim. They just got to happen that way.”
Green was ejected two minutes into the third quarter of Golden State’s 116-113 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday, November 2. He received consecutive technical fouls following an altercation involving Maluach and Dillon Brooks.
Explaining his actions, Green said he could not allow Maluach to finish at the rim while he was still on the floor.
“So the one with Maluach, I’ll take that one. That’s got to happen. Like I can’t fall down the middle of the paint. You just finish it. And I’m like still laying. That don’t work. Like respect gone. It just don’t work,” Green said.
The veteran forward also accepted the technical foul for throwing the ball, arguing that his response carried a message for future matchups.
“So with that being said, a little tech for throwing them. Yeah, no problem. I’ll take that,” Green said. “Because the next time you try something like that, you got to know that that comes with something else.”
Green added that physicality was part of protecting the rim and fulfilling his responsibilities as a defensive anchor.
“That’s all a part of protecting yourself. A rim, being an anchor of a defense. That’s all a part of it,” he said. “So I want to help y’all understand that and let you know that, yeah, that one, and yeah, that will happen again.”
Brandin Podziemski said Green’s ejection helped Golden State find an edge during its comeback against Phoenix. The guard scored 20 points and described the incident as a turning point in the team’s defensive intensity.
“I loved it. It fueled our team,” Podziemski said. “We didn’t have that edge to us to start the game. Found it a little bit in the second quarter, but then they came out in the third quarter pretty well and then that kind of changed the game for us.”
The Warriors held Phoenix to 20 points in the fourth quarter after Green’s departure. However, Podziemski rejected the suggestion that Golden State was better defensively without its veteran forward.
“I think it’s a one-off. Dre’s still our best defender. He’s still the team’s defensive anchor. Still one of the best in the league at it,” Podziemski said.
Golden State has won five consecutive games after opening the season 0-3, improving to 5-3 with Monday’s victory. The Warriors will host the Miami Heat on Thursday, November 5.
