Draymond Green Reggie Miller Screengrab via TNT
NBABy Matt Yoder on

Draymond Green does not have any supporters left in the media or amongst NBA fans. But he does apparently still have one in Reggie Miller.

The controversial forward was at it again in the Golden State Warriors’ 109-106 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 4 of their first round Western Conference playoff series. And Green was in the middle of the action for most of the night, and on pretty much every occasion Miller was offering his support.

It started in the second quarter during a skirmish involving Steph Curry and fellow firebrand Dillon Brooks where both got technical fouls. Green got involved after setting a screen on Amen Thompson and then picked up a technical himself.

“No? I do not understand that on Draymond Green,” Miller said. “Come on man.”

“Where did you see a shove? I think he was being more of a peacemaker actually. I know his history,” he added.

It was far from the most aggressive act of Green’s career, but given his reputation and the fact that he stepped into a tense situation to shove away a player from the opposing player of the other team, you can totally understand why he earned a technical foul.

Minutes later, Green kicked Tari Eason in the head after violently swinging his leg around while Eason was on the floor. He picked up a flagrant foul for unnecessary contact when referees judged he used his leg to drive his face into the floor with force. Again, Reggie Miller was quick to jump to Draymond Green’s defense.

“I think because he fell over the body… I’m going to give a leash on that one. I don’t think that was a kick in the head because he was trying to get the ball back,” Miller said.

If there’s anyone in professional sports who does not deserve a leash, it’s Draymond Green. And we’ve seen countless examples where his seeming inability to control his limbs like any other professional athlete results in players getting punched, kicked, kneed or something else.

With a technical and a flagrant, Green was able to stay in the game. And his defense in the closing seconds on Alperen Şengün with Golden State up by a point allowed the Warriors to seal the victory. Green then went to the announcers’ table to talk to Miller, who was standing up in appreciation of his play.

Green’s comments on Sengun to Miller could not be repeated on television, but by that point he was lucky to still be in the game thanks to the technicality of only getting a flagrant one foul and one technical instead of two technicals or a flagrant two foul.

While Reggie Miller was giving all kinds of love to Draymond Green and the Warriors, Nick Wright of Fox Sports just wants him to be able to pronounce Şengün’s name correctly as an olive branch for Rockets fans.

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