‘They’re just talking’: Draymond Green unfazed by Boston crowd, but pair of other Warriors disapprove
"Really classy. Good job Boston."
After Game 2 of the NBA Finals, the stage was set for Draymond Green to be the target of the TD Garden crowd’s attention in Boston on Wednesday.
The Warriors’ star forward was constantly physical in Game 2, drawing ire from Celtics players and fans throughout Golden State’s decisive win on Sunday. Moments into Game 3, Green was serenaded by the TD Garden crowd with “[expletive] you Draymond!” chants in what ended up being a 116-100 win for the Celtics on Wednesday night.
Green said he wasn’t moved by his welcome to Boston.
“They’re just talking,” Green said. “Not really my job to react to them. They did what I expected.”
A pair of other Warriors expressed a different reaction though to the TD Garden crowd’s actions on Wednesday.
“Uh, classy. Real classy,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
“It was not a factor [in the loss],” Warriors star guard Klay Thompson added. “We’ve played in front of rude fans before. Dropping F-bombs with children in the crowd. Really classy. Good job Boston.”
Green’s performance certainly gave the Celtics’ crowd a lot to cheer for. He scored just two points on 1-of-4 shooting, dishing out three assists, grabbed four rebounds, and for the second time this series, he fouled out.
Green didn’t mince his words when asked how he played in Game 3.
“Like [expletive],” Green said.
“I just think I never found a rhythm, really on both ends of the floor,” Green added. “Not enough force, but I’ve just got to find a rhythm quicker.”
The most fired-up Green appeared to be in his postgame press conference came when a reporter asked if the comments he made on his podcast following the Celtics’ Game 1 win could come back to hurt them.
“Nah, I don’t say much different on the podcast than I say to you right here,” Green said. “So, nah. What’s the Xs and Os that I say on the podcast?”
The reporter mentioned the comments Green made about the Warriors living with Al Horford, Marcus Smart, and Derrick White to take open 3-pointers in Game 1, which resulted in the trio shooting for a combined 15-for-23 from deep.
Green didn’t believe he let the cat out of the bag and tipped the Celtics off by saying that before getting into a testy exchange with the reporter.
“That was just contested shots,” Green said. “If that’s Xs and Os, then I don’t – you’re reaching for something. It’s all good though, keep going. Reaching heavy. ‘Do you find they’re taking Xs and Os away from your podcast?’ The only thing you said was White, Smart, and Horford. Hmm.
“Nah, I mean, you went for it. Respect. I appreciate the podcast promo you just gave me though.”
After Green said that the most disappointing part of his Game 3 performance was that he played “soft,” he took a shot at the reporter who asked a question about his podcast.
“Monty, how much Xs and Os did you get from the podcast? Clearly this guy – I don’t know man, maybe that’s the IQ level over this way, [expletive],” Green said.
And he took another shot.
“I thought we let them get to too many of their strengths. We like to play by the term, ‘Make them play left-handed’ and I don’t think we did that tonight. [Reporter] Jake Fischer, just an FYI, that’s a reference to something, making somebody play left-handed. That’s not really Xs and Os – like literally make them drive left,” Green said. “But we like to make teams play left-handed. We didn’t do that tonight. That starts with me. When you allow their team to get comfortable in front of their home crowd, it gets tough. We battled back, we took the lead for minute. But, you know, it’s a game and you go on that run it’s a different story.
“We’ll be better. I’ll be better. Come out and win Game 4. Head home 2-2.”
The Warriors and Celtics meet again on Friday, where the Celtics look to take a 3-1 series lead.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com