Steve Kerr Takes Blame for Draymond Green Gaffe in Bulls Loss

One of the key plays that allowed the Bulls to beat the Warriors 130-124 in overtime on Tuesday was a Draymond Green foul on Jalen Smith with 1.4 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.

Green gave Smith a nudge as he caught the ball, and it was called a foul before Smith could get the shot up from the corner (Smith had his foot on the three-point line, so it would have been a two if Smith had not been fouled and made the shot). With the Warriors over the foul limit, Smith got two free-throw attempts, and he made them both to tie the game.

After the gave, Steve Kerr confirmed the refs got the call right before taking some blame for Green's mistake.

"He just got his hand on his body," Kerr said. "It was a foul. ... I'm sure he'd like to have that one back. Got his hand in the wrong spot."

Kerr added: "It would have been a tough shot. It was a two, also. It wasn't a three, so it would have been for a tie."

Kerr continued: "[Dray] was in a tough spot. He didn't play the whole fourth quarter. And then I throw him out there for a couple defensive possessions because I know how good he is on that end. He wasn't exactly loose and in the flow, and I'm sure that didn't help matters."

Kerr Didn't Make a Mistake Putting Green In

Every coach in the NBA would have put Green in the game for the last couple of defensive possessions of the fourth quarter. I'm not second-guessing Kerr's coaching for the decision.

Green simply made a mistake he shouldn't have.

It's totally fair to be critical of Green for the gaffe—which I did here—but if you zoom out, remember that Green has closed out dozens of games over the years with great defensive plays.

That's not an excuse for the mistake. It's just acknowledging that he'll make the right play more often than not, and my guess is he learns from this one so he doesn't make the same mistake twice.

Fouling Up 3 Did Not Work Out

Moments before Green's foul, the Warriors actually led by three and chose to foul before the Bulls could attempt a three-pointer. The Bulls made both free throws to cut the lead to one, and then they fouled LJ Cryer. He split his two free-throw attempts, which set the stage for the dramatic end of regulation.

When the Warriors have Stephen Curry on the court, fouling up three is essentially always the right decision. He rarely misses a clutch free throw.

But with him out, it was much more likely that whoever got the line would miss one.

Still, it's a defensible decision to foul up three. Every NBA team is capable of making one tough three these days, and it's easy to argue that one tough three is easier to pull off than making two free throws, hoping the other team misses one, and then getting two more points with no timeouts.