The Golden State Warriors narrowly survived their first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
The gruelling seven-game battle was exactly what NBA fans were asking for: a gritty, physical series full of drama. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the physicality and dislike between these two teams may end up taking a toll.
Draymond Green could eventually be punished for some of that physicality and bad blood from the Houston series, having picked up four technical fouls and two flagrant fouls through the seven games. Depending on how the rest of the playoffs go, Green’s technical and flagrant fouls in the Houston series could result in a suspension.
How many technical fouls before suspension in the NBA playoffs?
In the playoffs, a player can receive up to six technical fouls before facing further disciplinary action from the league. After the seventh technical, a player is suspended for one game. For every two technicals after the seventh, a player is suspended for an additional game as well.
For flagrant fouls, a flagrant foul penalty one is worth one point, and a flagrant foul penalty two is worth two points. If a player receives four total points throughout the playoffs, they are suspended for one game.
Draymond Green’s technical and flagrant count could hurt the Warriors
So, after only one playoff series, Green is already uncomfortably close to facing suspension down the road. This should be a major red flag for Warriors fans who have already seen their team arguably lose a championship due to these rules.
Nobody wants to bring up the 2016 Finals, but the worst-case scenario would be these early technicals and flagrants putting the Warriors' championship hopes in jeopardy down the road.
With four technicals and two flagrant foul points, Green needs to be super careful. Golden State can’t afford to have the 35-year-old playing without the intensity that's made him such a legendary player, yet they also can’t afford for him to continue losing his composure during a physical playoff series.
Green simply can’t get technicals and flagrants at the same rate in this series as he did in the first-round against the Rockets. Given he's coming up against a noted rival in Rudy Gobert who he has a long history with, this could be a tall task. If the veteran forward is unable to keep his composure, the Warriors will be severely punished as missing a key piece like Green -- even for one game -- could mean the difference between winning and losing a series.
