The Warriors and Cavaliers have a rivalry going, but let’s wait until June by Eric He

Draymond Green has to play by a different set of rules and LeBron James being allowed to hang on the rim without a technical foul proves that.

Draymond Green gets a different whistle than everyone else. His outbursts towards officials have earned him this shorter leash. The All-Star has developed a reputation for himself, much like Metta World Peace and Rasheed Wallace before him.

Green is not the only player to kick out his legs. Players in the past have done it, players in the present do it, and players will continue to do it. He’s not intentionally trying connect or injury anyone. Sometimes it’s a natural motion and sometimes he’s trying to exaggerate contact.

The Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner plays under a microscope. Everything he does is examined and, ultimately, blown out of proportion. He has to play by a different set of rules (and he knows it too).

Marked… — Draymond Green (@Money23Green) December 2, 2016

The boundaries that Green has to tip-toe around are much different than what LeBron James is allowed to bowl over. The Cavaliers’ star is, probably, the best player in basketball. He’s, arguably, the greatest to ever step on the hardwood so it makes sense that he’s held to a slightly different standard than everyone else.

But if the Warriors and the Cavaliers are going to continue to be the NBA’s latest great rivalry, then the playing field has to be equal. The Warriors’ Christmas Day matchup showed that it currently isn’t. Green is a marked man while James is allowed to roam freely around the rule books.

Draymond Green just received a technical foul for hanging on the rim and Steve Kerr was none too pleased about it pic.twitter.com/pNgO7f8ewx — KNBR (@KNBR) December 21, 2016

In the video above, Green received a technical for hanging on the rim after going full speed for a coast to coast dunk.

Now check this out:

Pretty sure LeBron is still hanging there https://t.co/EKzAMYnCdL — Scott @ WFNY (@WFNYScott) December 26, 2016

James swung back and forth while kicking his legs. It was a pretty spectacular dunk, finishing through the contact. He also should have been assessed a technical foul.

Now, if it were up to me, neither of those plays warrant techs. But rules are rules and James, apparently, plays by a different set. In a game where Richard Jefferson got a technical foul for winking and Green picked one up as he walked away, it’s inexcusable that this was permissible.

Would it have made a difference? Who knows? I’m not going to say Golden State would have won because, well, we just don’t know. But they would have given the league’s best free throw shooter a chance to make it a one-point game (James missed the free throw after the foul).

If the outcome would have changed is not the point. The fact of the matter is something needs to change. Green has created a reputation for himself. He’s known for his outbursts and he can sometimes antagonize officials. James, on the other hand, does not have that reputation.

Green has to work to control himself more, but the rules should not be different for him than they are for James. These two teams are going to meet in June and, if the league wants to continue to be the best league in the world, this needs to get cleaned up. Officials miss calls, but this one seems like a no-brainer.

The problem isn’t with James’ actions, it’s the response. I love that he hung on the rim. It was a huge play in an emotional game so why shouldn’t he be allowed to do that? There just needs to be consistency in how the whistle is blown and a balance in how the rules apply to each player.

Green is a marked man, James isn’t, and this could (once again) become a storyline in the NBA Finals.