Draymond Green accused the Blazers of 'cheating the game,' but he should be mad at the refs

Draymond Green was (correctly) called out for taking too long to sub into Warriors-Blazers, and then tried to make it about the Blazers.

Draymond Green attempted to sub into the Warriors-Blazers game on Wednesday, with 5:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. He went to the scorer’s table, and then took his time.

He was still in his warmups. He had heating pads on his knees. After 13 seconds, Trail Blazers assistant coach Jim Moran yelled to referees: “Hey, how much time does he get? How much time does he get?”

The refs understood the question, and put the kibosh on the substitution. Green would have to wait until the next opportunity to check into the game. That was nearly a minute later — Green eventually subbed in for Omari Spellman with 4:35 left in the game.

Green was apoplectic, and continued to be apoplectic after the game, which the Warriors lost, 122-112. Green accused the Blazers of “cheating the game” by asking refs for a delay of game call.

The Blazers didn’t cheat, though. They just asked the rules to be enforced. The NBA is desperately trying to improve its in-game product, and a common complaint from NBA fans is that fourth quarters can get so bogged down in timeouts, substitutions, and free throws, it makes it tough to watch.

So they put a limit on things. Yahoo pulled the rule:

RULE NO 3: Players, Substitutes and Coaches Section 5, article C: A substitute must be ready to enter the game when beckoned. No delays for removal of warm-up clothing will be permitted.

Pretty cut and dry. Green was in warm-ups and wearing heating pads on his knees. He wasn’t ready to enter the game.

So now, the Blazers didn’t cheat anything. They asked the rule to be enforced, and it was.

Where Green has a point, however, is that opposing coaches and players seem to be awfully particular about when they’re calling out these rule violations. The Blazers waited until the fourth quarter of a close game — the score was 107-102 at the time — to demand the rule be called.

It reminds me of Chris Paul calling out Jordan Bell for having his jersey untucked in a game between the Thunder and the Timberwolves, which he did with … 1.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a three-point game.

Paul, like the Blazers assistant, was correct about the rule. However, refs have to have some discretion here. Paul hadn’t cared much about jerseys being tucked in or out until a second remained in the fourth quarter. The Blazers coaches weren’t counting off seconds on substitutions until one of the Warriors’ best players tried to check in to a tight game in the fourth.

Green was mad at the Blazers … but he should be mad at the refs.

If the rules are there, the refs need to enforce them from the start of the game. And if the refs aren’t enforcing them all game, they can’t just suddenly start enforcing them when an opponent realizes it would be hugely in his team’s favor for the rule to be called.

The refs might look bad, but I’d argue they have to swallow the whistle there. You can’t change how you’re calling a game when one team decides it. Then you’re not calling the game; they are.