John Wall: “The refs didn’t really do too much early on, they let it go on.” pic.twitter.com/HwXNrBzAEu
— Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) October 28, 2017
OAKLAND–Neither Draymond Green nor Bradley Beal lasted a full half on Friday night.
Wizards’ star John Wall still thinks the officials in Washington’s matchup with Golden State could have stepped in to prevent tensions from flaring sooner.
While Green and Beal were both ejected for fighting in the first half of the Warriors’ 120-117 victory on Friday, Wall indicated the officials weren’t assertive enough early in the game which ultimately played a role in the overall chippiness.
“I think so that, and then the refs didn’t really do too much early on, they let it go on,” Wall said. “And when you let it go on, it gets to a point where it gets like that and then afterwards, they get more assertive and start calling stuff a little more tight.”
Wall said that while he knows no NBA player wants to be involved in a fight, he understood why Beal and Green found themselves in an altercation on Friday.
“Nobody wants to fight on an NBA court, but at the same time you’re a man and when anybody comes into that comfort zone and disrespects you as a man you’ve got to stand up for yourself,” Wall said.
The face of the Wizards’ franchise also indicated he thinks it’s possible Beal and or Green could be suspended for their involvement in Friday’s game, because the NBA has stricter rules regarding fights than it did in the past.
“It’s a lot different now with the NBA than what it was in the past, so you might get more suspensions than what you would from some of the new rules that they have,” Wall said.
The Wizards were in control for three quarters of Friday night’s game, but after Beal left the game, Washington slowly began to fall apart. By the fourth quarter, Scott Brooks’ team ran out of gas, as the Warriors stepped on the pedal and pulled away thanks to the unlikely contributions from reserves Omri Casspi, Kevon Looney and Daivd West.
Without Beal to fend off Golden State, Washington was at a disadvantage depth-wise which played into the Warriors’ hands. Nevertheless, Wall said he was pleased with the way his team competed, and that regardless of who their opponent is, the Wizards aren’t going to back down.
“We’re a team that no matter who you are, defending champs or not, that’s how we play, that’s how we compete,” Wall said. “They’re the defending champs, they’ve been to three straight NBA Finals, they’re a great team and we’re trying to get what they’ve got. We’re not going to back down to anything they say or anything they do. It was a great, competitive game.”