Is the Jeff Green-Brandon Bass "disagreement" a big deal?
Mid-way through the third quarter of yesterday's 92-91 loss the the Hawks, Jeff Green and Brandon Bass appeared to have a slightly less than friendly exchange (pictured above, notice the looks on the faces of Faverani, Pressey, and Bogans). Here's a video clip of the whole thing:
"Altercation" is probably too strong a word, but the two players clearly were not pleased with each other. It's also worth noting that Green walked right past Brad Stevens while seemingly paying no attention to him whatsoever. Neither Bass nor Green played in the 4th quarter. After the game Stevens said (via ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg):
"Disagreements are part of the game, it’s part of team basketball. But how quickly you move on from there says a lot."
Stevens also claimed that his decision to sit Green and Bass down the stretch had nothing to do with the incident, and was simply because the bench (particularly Kelly Olynyk and Kris Humphries) was playing well.
Is this actually something to be concerned about? My guess is probably not. It was a very frustrating day for both players, who combined to shoot just 6-16 for 17 points, and a +/- rating of -31. But with potential trade rumors surrounding each of these guys, if a move is made there's a good chance yesterday's spat will be revisited.
Follow Mark Vandeusen on twitter @LucidSportsFan