There are three things in life we’ve all more or less come to expect: death, taxes and late-season NBA penalties that don’t get enforced because of the time of year we’re in.
Just in case you hadn’t noticed: With the addition of the play-in round, NBA standings are essentially tighter than they’ve ever been. There’s a week and a half remaining in the regular season, and only four teams have been eliminated from postseason contention, the fewest in league history with so little time left on the calendar. Most games are taking on added importance now—for seeding, or for mere inclusion in the postseason at all—so everything is under a harsh microscope. That includes players’ technical-foul totals, which trigger a one-game suspension once someone accumulates 16 of them, and an additional suspension for every two after that.
Two players in particular, All-NBA guard Luka Dončić of the Mavericks and four-time All-Star Draymond Green of the Warriors, have come up in recent days due to their flirtations with suspensions. With their teams locked in tight playoff races, Dončić drew a 16th technical Sunday in the midst of a game with the Hornets (one that would ultimately become Dallas’s fourth straight loss) and Draymond Green got a 17th tech Tuesday before daring officials to hand him another the very next play when he appeared to step on Pelicans wing Herbert Jones and possibly kick his leg toward him while standing up following a collision between the men.
