Boston Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk has been accused of being a dirty player by more than a few people during the playoffs, but something about it just doesn’t sound right coming from Draymond Green.
On his “Dray Day” podcast Monday, Green discussed the high screen Olynyk set on Washington Wizards forward Kelly Oubre during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semis. Green was quick to defend Oubre.
“Olynyk caught him in the face, in the neck, with a couple elbows,” he said, as transcribed by Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk. “And that’s what I don’t understand. You let people get away with stuff and then finally when somebody reacts you penalize that guy. But you’re not going to penalize him for continuing to elbow this guy in the face? I don’t get that.”
Whether the screen from Olynyk was “dirty” or not, Oubre’s reaction was over the top. He charged at Olynyk and bodied him, making contact with an official in the process. He’s fortunate to have only been suspended one game. Still, Green disagreed with Oubre being suspended after he was already ejected from the game, especially for an altercation with a player the Golden State Warriors star doesn’t respect.
“He’s dirty. Dirty player. Man, I don’t respect guys like that,” Green said. “I know he’s not like the greatest basketball player of all-time so maybe you feel like you’ve got to do that. But, just dirty. I don’t respect that, man. He dirty.”
Green then went on to talk about how there’s a different between playing dirty and “knowing all the tricks,” which is a convenient stance for him to take. Green is known for flailing his limbs around and kicking people in the groin, though he said recently that he thinks he knows why he gets so many technical fouls.
Whether you believe Olynyk is a dirty player or not, Green isn’t exactly one to talk.
