Neither did Draymond Green, so that made it even stranger that the Pistons ‘reserve aggressively approached the Warriors’ bench after Golden State surrounded Detroit 118-91 at Chase Center Saturday night.
“When the f — became Rodney McGruder the tough guy on the team?” Green said. ‘I don’t know, man. Everyone in the competition is tough these days. It’s crazy.
“I’ve seen a lot of tough guys this year. I don’t understand and no one is doing anything. “
McGruder, who played the last six minutes, 24 seconds after the blowout, walked towards the Warriors bench after the buzzer. He went straight for Juan Toscano-Anderson, apparently questioning a comment that the Warriors player aimed at Wayne Ellington during the first half.
The fire was quickly put out as none of the Pistons players supported McGruder and walked into their own dressing room instead.
“Get out of here,” Green said. “Tough guy, Rodney. Rodney, tough guy. I also rock with Juan T. Juan T was about to do that ‘Town Bizness’. “
McGruder was brought out of Kansas State in 2013 and played 112 games for Miami from 2016 to ’19. He played 56 games for the Clippers last season, including four starts.
He has averaged 5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds during his career.
McGruder came out at 13 minutes, 36 seconds of playing time in 19 games this season with Detroit, before hitting the bat on Saturday.
“This guy may be out of competition soon,” said Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson. “Maybe he’s mad about that.”
Rusty Simmons is a staff writer at San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @RTLnews