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Kendra AndrewsESPN
Draymond Green With a clear mind, I entered Game 2 in the NBA Finals with this mindset: Bring force.
Green stated that he wouldn’t be able “to live with myself” if he kept going on about his summer, which ended in the NBA Finals. Green spoke ahead of Tuesday’s practice in Boston. “So, I think that was just kinda it for me. Understanding that, like I stated, that is my Department. This is where I am supposed to lead and I cannot let my men down.”
Green noticed the most about Game 1’s lack of physicality. The Warriors were the victor for 42 minutes. But, as the Celtics pulled away in the fourth, Green was not impressed.
He believed it was the only way to make their No. 1 adjustment.
Green’s intense play was evident immediately. Green tied Al Horford behind the three-point line on the first possession, forcing a turnover. It set the tone of how he would play throughout the night.
Marcus Smart and Horford Derrick White Together, they shot just 6-for-23 on the field in Game 2. They were able to make 15 of the 23 attempts from 3-point range in Game 1.
Green said, “You reach the NBA Finals. Physicality and meeting force force with force are important.” It’s something you bring to the game. I didn’t feel that they felt enough about me when I watched the movie. This stage, at this level, is impossible. A team that doesn’t feel you can make you lose. It’s a shame. Once you reach this point, you have to lose because the team is better than you.
Green attributes his natural forceful and physical nature to the place he grew-up (Saginaw in Michigan) as well as the era of basketball that he was exposed to as a kid.
“Playing in Vets Park, Civitan Rec Center, clearly, growing up, I saw guys like Gary Payton, Rasheed Wallace,” Green said. “I observed all those men and how they went about doing their business. Dennis Rodman. Having seen these guys over the years, I have a great appreciation for Uncle Oak and how he enforced things. It’s part of the game. This is a skill.”
Green believes Game 2 was not just a demonstration of the increased intensity he and his Warriors required following the first game; it was also what they needed to close the series.