The head coach of the Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr reiterated his call for the NBA to change the way the league is handing out game suspensions based on the technical fouls amassed during the playoff season.
This suggestion calls for the change of policy where a player will get an automatic game suspension once he had accumulated seven technical fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct even though the league can still rescind a technical foul after further review.
Draymond Green and Kevin Durant who are key players for the Warrior are real close to hitting 42 technical fouls, which could result in six suspended games. Kerr pointed out that he does not understand the logic of why a certain number of technical fouls should serve as a basis for disqualifying a player from playing. He added though that these two players generally know if they are near this limit which makes them shut everything down and play the game.
As of this time, each player has already been called for two technical fouls apiece after beating the Los Angeles Clippers within six games during the playoffs. Durant, who had incurred three technical fouls during the series, got his total cut to two after one technical foul called during Game 3 was rescinded.
Kerr thought that a recent technical foul imposed on Green was unfair. The Warriors head coach justified his player’s actions stating that Green was merely asking the referee David Guthrie on what he can do to defend that play better without being called for a violation and for that he was hit with a technical foul.
It will be recalled that Green got suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals as he reached the number of technical fouls necessary for a game suspension. This suspension cost the Warriors dearly during that series as the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to win the last two games and win an NBA championship after 60 years.
The league automatically suspends a player once he has collected 16 technical fouls due to unsportsmanlike conduct during the regular season. Durant and ex-teammate, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma Thunder collected 17 technical fouls. He managed to avert suspension for one technical foul which eventually got rescinded.
Kerr believes the better way of doing this is to count technical fouls based on a series by basis or every two series. The Warriors and Kerr have a lot of weight in the NBA and it will be interesting to see if the NBA does anything about this rule for the next season.
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