The NBA absolutely soils itself during Game 4 while reversing a first-half technical foul from Draymond Green to Steve Kerr.
Perhaps this is why the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are squaring off for the third straight season in the NBA Finals. Perhaps this why both teams will meet again during the same series for the next three years.While watching Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals, the reason is easy to spot.
The NBA protects the star player to a ridiculous degree.
In this league, it’s the haves and the have-nots. It’s the big boys and the bums. To a degree, it’s always been this way, especially starting when the league found financial prosperity in the 1980s when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson showed face.
Now, though, it’s gotten out of hand.
What we’re witnessing on Friday night has been anything but basketball.
During a sequence in the third quarter, Draymond Green was hit with a personal and then a technical foul. This meant the Dubs most feisty leader would be ejected thanks to a first-half technical.
Not so fast. Just like everything in Game 4, this sequence began and ended in chaos, mirroring Monday Night RAW, not basketball.
Green wasn’t ejected. The officials changed the first half technical to Steve Kerr at that very moment Green picked up his second.
Official scorer's report at halftime: "Technical fouls – Warriors – Green 1:55 1st" pic.twitter.com/Rh5T1WGOFO
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 10, 2017
Hey NBA, the REASON the Cavs and Dubs will play in the next 3 #NBAFinals is because you laughably placate to the STARS like this. Bad look.
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) June 10, 2017
It was a joke of epic proportions.
Even if the intention of calling the foul was on Kerr, at that moment, Green had picked up the foul and it was not addressed.
The actions are just another in the long line of the NBA protecting its star players to a degree that creates more domination and less parity.
On the broadcast, ABC’s Steve Javie, a retired, veteran NBA official, even mentioned that the officials are completely “aware” of which players have which technicals. Obviously, as fans, we already knew this, but to see the Green drama unfold moments after Javie made that statement especially stuck with us.
Sidenotes in the game include the Cavs setting NBA Finals records for most points in a quarter and a half (49), and Zaza Pachulia smacking Iman Shumpert near the groin and Dahntay Jones picking up a technical on the bench.
Zaza Pachulia and Iman Shumpert get into it ?https://t.co/6SbAiuu6my
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 10, 2017
Dahntay Jones doing what he does best ? pic.twitter.com/YAc8IqzlLe
— The Sports Quotient (@SportsQuotient) June 10, 2017
The worst part about this sports entertainment atmosphere is that the basketball game isn’t even physical. If the two teams were truly going after one another in a hard-nosed, physical manner, it’d be true championship basketball.
Instead, it’s a circus among players, fans and most importantly, the officials.
Pay close attention, Adam Silver. Your sport is turning into the WWE without the physicality.
The NBA has literally turned into WWE without the real physicality. Think about it. #NBAFinals
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) June 10, 2017
Dear Adam Silver, get a hold of your league. Please, bring us back to the 90s and figure these officials out. Thanks. #NBAFinals
— Elite Sports NY (@EliteSportsNY) June 10, 2017