Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was fined $50,000 for making an “inappropriate comment that questions the integrity of game officials,” the NBA announced on Wednesday. The incident occurred late in the Warriors’ loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their second-round series.
Green fouled out of Game 3 with 4:38 remaining and the Warriors trailing by just two points. Without him, and Steph Curry, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Game 1, the Warriors fell apart down the stretch. Though they trailed by as many as nine, they ended up losing by just five and a score of 102-97.
Why does that matter?
Well, with 15 seconds left, the Warriors called a timeout. They were down by eight, and whatever happened on the final possession was meaningless in terms of the outcome of the game. For bettors, though, it was crucial. The spread for that contest was Timberwolves -5.5, which meant that if they won by six or more, everyone who backed the Timberwolves would win, while if they won by five or fewer, everyone who backed the Warriors would win.
And that brings us back to Green’s fine. As play was about to resume, the game broadcast showed Green talking on the sidelines. He appears to say, to an official, “five and a half, I know what y’all doing,” referring to the spread. That comment could easily be construed as Green accusing the refs of throwing the game for gambling purposes.
That Jonathan Kuminga went down and made a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to five and ensure the Warriors beat the spread certainly didn’t help matters.
This is not the first time that a player has been fined under similar circumstances. Last season, Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert made a money gesture with his fingers after fouling out of a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was fined $100,000 for the combination of his gesture and the comments he made in the media afterward.
“I’ll bite the bullet again,” Gobert said. “I’ll be the bad guy. I’ll take the fine, but I think it’s hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.”
Gobert was then fined another $75,000 for making a similar money gesture after he was called for an offensive foul in the Timberwolves loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series.
The league, understandably, does not take it lightly when players accuse officials of being corrupt.
Green and the Warriors are down 3-1 to Gobert and the Timberwolves, and face a must-win Game 5 in Minneapolis on Wednesday night.
This news was originally published on this post .
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