"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I'm going on about my summer and we lost the NBA Finals because we couldn't meet force with force" - Draymond Green on on the importance of physicality in the series, says he "can't let my guys down"
Draymond Green brought the energy, physicality and intensity that Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wanted to see in Game 2 and he's expected to be his old self again in Game 3 vs. the Celtics as the NBA Finals shifts to Boston.
Green was not happy the way he played in Game 1 of the series in San Francisco and he made sure he turned it up a notch.
Draymond Green on "meeting force with force"
“I just thought it was something that we needed to bring. You get to the NBA Finals and physicality and meeting force with force is important. It's just something that you have to bring to this game,” Draymond Green said.
“I thought when I looked back at Game 1, when I watched the film and even just how I felt, I just didn't think they felt us enough. You can't get to this stage, to this level, and the reason you lose is because a team didn't feel you. That's a shame.”
“You have to lose once you get to this level because a team was just better than you. I wouldn't be able to sleep with myself -- not sleep with myself. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I'm going on about my summer and we lost the NBA Finals because we couldn't meet force with force. So I think that was just kind of it for me and understanding that, like I said, that is my department. That's where I'm supposed to lead, and I can't let my guys down”, Green further added.
Draymond Green by no means let his guys or the fans down in Game 2 of the Finals. The 3-time NBA champion got very physical with Jaylen Brown and Al Horford and was seen having intense talks with everyone from Jayson Tatum to Marcus Smart.
Green wanted to send a message and his message was heard loud and clear after struggling offensively in game one.
Draymond Green on trash-talking
“There is an art to trash talking. If you grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, it's naturally given to you. For me personally, growing up the way I did, you can't survive if you can't talk on the court. You go out there quiet if you want to. You play as good as you want. If you're quiet, they're going to think you're soft. They're going to try to bully you. That's just kind of the way I learned”, Green said.
“For a young guy to -- I think there's a balance, right; like I'm assuming you're talking Grant Williams. Of course you are. I think when you see that, when you see a guy say, man, I grew up watching him, you appreciate it, because that's why you work. You work to create a path for the next young guy. Like, my goal when I came in here was to create a path for Grant Williams.”
“”To hear him say that is an honor, so I don't take that for granted one bit. When a guy comes and starts -- when you say that and then you start talking junk to me, then yes, I'm going to say something about that. Of course. But I didn't say anything about that Game 1 because he wasn't talking to me. I'm not going to go watch his press conference where he gives me props, where he appreciates my game and then go through it in his face. That's whack to me. I'm not doing that. That's just not how I roll.”
“LeBron James, when I was wearing LeBron James sneakers in my first one, two, three years and playing against him, he didn't throw it in my face -- like, dude, you got on my sneakers. It's just not something you do. Once he starts going at me and it got chippy and he's yap, yap, yap, all right, bro, you can't say that and then come and say this. It just doesn't add up to me.”
“So then you just go wherever you've got to go, and for me that's where I'm going.”
“Do I feel like, no, man, I shouldn't have said that? No, it's the heat of the battle. You're out there on the court. You get to feel sorry for him or yourself if you want to. It's going to turn on you. No, you just keep it moving. I'm also someone who -- things happen on the basketball court. Things are said on the basketball court. It's the basketball court. I then leave the basketball court, I go home to my life, my normal life. But I am not one that's like, oh, man, such-and-such did this on the court and now I need to feel the way I -- it's the basketball court.”
Currently in his 10th season, the 6’6”, 235lb forward has been an aggressive player his entire life, something he learned at an early age.
“I think it just comes from growing up in Saginaw, playing at Vets Park, playing at the Civitan Recreation Center. Obviously, growing up I watched guys like Gary Payton, Rasheed Wallace. I watched all those guys and how they went about their business. Dennis Rodman. Seeing those guys over the years, and I have a huge appreciation for Uncle Oak, how he enforced things,” Green said.
“That's a part of the game. That is a skill.”
“I have a huge appreciation for those guys. I saw what Cedric Maxwell said.”
Former Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell responds to Draymond Green’s comments about the physicality of the NBA in the ’80s and ’90s 👀 https://t.co/9xLlbRrBjN
“One thing that baffles me about the '80s or the '90s, or whenever you want to call it when basketball was so much more physical, is some of the guys that be talking weren't the guys that were punching people. They act like guys was just walking around the court, like, I'm hitting this guy in the nose.”
“Y’all were getting bullied”
Draymond has a message for those who glorify the physicality of basketball in the 1980s and ‘90s 😂 https://t.co/BRxU5Z0SS9
“There were a few guys back then that would lay you out, that would knock you out, that would foul you and get thrown out the game. Bill Laimbeer. Rick Mahorn. But everybody running around acting like they were that. Y'all were getting bullied. So it baffles me when every guy, just because they played in the '80s, just because they played in the '90s, is like, man, if you played in our day, you'd get knocked out. No, not really, because it wouldn't be you.”
“Okay, so you're saying Rick Mahorn would have knocked me out? Rick Mahorn probably knocks you out. Bill Laimbeer probably lays you out. So were there enforcers of that time? Of course. Would they have knocked you out? Of course. Their fine was also $2. It's just not the same day and age. If I go knock somebody out, I probably get fined a million dollars. It just don't work the same.”
“When guys get to making these comparisons or talking about, oh, if you played in this day and age, like yeah. And if you played in this day and age you would have had to be way more skilled than you were. It's just different.”
Draymond Green on unfair comparisons
“Comparing the physicality of the game and everybody acting like they were just the most physical and brutal enforcers, it's like everybody acting like they shoot the ball like Steph Curry today. You know, it's like then it was physical, now it's shooting. Everybody can't shoot the ball. Imagine me in 20 years, like, man, if you played in my day you had to shoot. Like, yeah, guys did shoot better and more. But that don't mean you shot that well.”
“So it just baffles me when guys get out here talking and they ain't got -- we got YouTube. You can pull up them highlights and they ain't got no YouTube fights. You see them on the court getting bullied, but they talking about you ain't got punched in the face. These people be killing me.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has no issue with Green’s intensity and passion even if at times, it has pushed the envelope like it potentially did in game two of the Finals.
“Just let him be him. He's at his best when he's passionate and emotional. I thought he played a great game the other night. He got the early tech, but he left the officials alone all night,” Kerr said. “The play is always going to be physical in the playoffs. Being physical is part of it. So the main thing is you have to leave the officials alone, and Draymond did a good job of that.”
What do the Boston Celtics think?
“Don't get caught up in that. Just do what we do best. We ain't got time for that. Just come out and play basketball, let everything else take care of itself”, Celtics star Jaylen Brown said. “I'm going to come out, do my job. Everybody needs to come out and do their job. We're here to play basketball, so don't get caught up in all the antics and stuff like that. Just come out and play.”
The Boston Celtics are preparing for that intensity again in game three, and are trying to figure out ways to counter as they look to take a 2-1 series lead at home.
“I mean, you respond to fire with fire, right? We've just got to turn around and do the same thing. If he's going to come in here and try to be physical, this is our house and we've got to protect it”, Marcus Smart of the Celtics said. “Well, I've said it before, we've been knocked down a lot early on this season, so we know what it feels like to be knocked down and we know what we can withstand. It ain't nothing that we haven't seen or been in any situation before. For us, it's just to keep fighting because we know our potential when we do that.”
Boston has found a way to rebound all season long. The Celtics have not lost back-to-back games since the end of March 2022 and have lost 2 straight only once since January.
Boston is 18-8 following a loss this season, including the NBA playoffs.
“We just make adjustments. They put Draymond on me, took Klay off me, put him on to be more physical like in other series, other teams tried to do, just be more physical, just try to make it hard for me to catch the ball or put me in tough spots to be successful”, Jaylen Brown said. “So just negate that, set the screens, make some adjustments and be ready for Game 3.”
Boston could make adjustments by matching Green and the Warriors' intensity, but Boston sounds like they plan to just be themselves.
“I say be who you are. If you want to ignore it, ignore it. If you engage, engage. Do what you do. Be who you are.”
“The main thing is to continue to stay composed. With us, I don't think it's the talking as much as the physicality that they brought. That was noticeable at times. Talking about the first Milwaukee game, the adjustments Miami made were to be more physical. We know obviously that's what Green does. Kind of bleeds over into the team”, Boston Head Coach Ime Udoka said.
“For us it's to be who you are. I told them if I was a player, who I was, I would probably get a double technical immediately. But that's not everybody. Do what you do. Block it out or meet physicality with physicality.”
Udoka has not talked to his team about Green’s antics and ability to get under his players skin, since it’s a given and known at this point in his career. The Celtics cannot afford to let Green dictate the series and game three on their floor in Boston.
“Definitely. I mean, as any competitor would tell you, when you get hit in the mouth like that, there's only one way to respond, and if you're not really ready to do that, then you don't need to be on this stage. This is a stage where we've got to be willing to risk it all out there for your team and for the victory. By all means necessary. That's the mindset that they have. It's the mindset we have. But we've got to go out there and execute it”, Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart said.
Boston’s biggest issue right now is not Green but how they are coming out after half-time.
Congratulations to Draymond Green on moving up to 9th place on the All-Time Assists list 🙌
https://t.co/hzxuirrdAv
The Celtics have been outscored by the Warriors 73-38 in the 3rd quarter of the NBA Finals, so far through 2 games.
A crucial issue that needs to change if Boston has a shot to upset Golden State.
Udoka, behind the scenes with his staff has talked about all sorts of scenerios to combat this issue. Udoka has discussed using different starting lineups and combinations with their rotation and the debate on whether or not to cut down on Horford's minutes, even though he helped them win game one in San Francisco.
Key decisions to make for the rookie head coach will help determine if Boston can rebound from their game two loss.