Monday, June 6, 2022. 9:43 PM
In Golden State, there is Stephen Curry to take care of the attack and Draymond Green to set the tone in defense: overmotivated, tireless, stalker, eye-catching, chattering, the strong winger weighed in with all his weight on Sunday in the win over Boston in the NBA Finals.
Already in danger after Game 1 lost at home, the Warriors had to react, not to let the Celtics escape in this series. They succeeded (107-88), to equalize at one everywhere, in the wake of the one who is described as “the heart and soul of the team” by coach Steve Kerr.
“They have to feel like we’re going into them,” Green had called before the game. And the winger set an example from Boston’s first attack, throwing himself on Al Horford, to snatch the ball from his hands. First of many deterrents to come, which had the Chase Center elated, as if Curry planted a logo three-pointer.
In San Francisco, it is Green himself who is in charge of warming up the fans in the pre-game video broadcast on the huge giant screen hung above the field. Hooded, he addresses them, behind powerful music: “Each season has its story. We are nearing the end. This is where you come in Dub Nation! Makes some noise! he shouts furiously, uncovering his face.
“He will do anything to win”
Whereupon Dray matched the action to the word. “He lit the fire, as he has done all season. And everyone follows him, ”summarized Gary Payton II.
His work during the first period was immense and his impact is measured well beyond the statistics (9 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 interception, 1 against). Because Green fell on almost all the green overcoats.
Those of Grant Williams, called an idiot during a spat which earned him a technical foul, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with whom he had the start of an altercation, after committing a foul on the back who was shooting from long range.
In their fall, her leg did not pass far from the face of the Celtics guard, who pushed her away. And when the latter wanted to get up, Green, rushing to do the same, clung to his shorts.
“Draymond, he’ll do anything to win, he’ll grab you, he’ll try to ruin the game. He raises the level of intensity…that’s his thing. He made his career out of it,” Brown blew afterward.
The reputation that the 32-year-old Warrior has forged for himself, certainly not inclined to alter his combativeness (“trying to hold me back will not work. I have to remain myself”, he hammered then ), does not does not preclude a certain leniency on the part of the referees.
The 10th best passer
After this incident, former official Steve Javie, a consultant for ESPN, rightly argued that the refereeing trio would take his status into account to establish whether he really deserved a second technical foul, and therefore exclusion. The winger finally had a narrow escape.
“When Draymond plays with that energy and flies around while also doing attacking moves, our team feeds on it. It makes the game easier for everyone. He played a great game, he was our leader, ”welcomed pivot Kevon Looney.
A leader, whose high basketball IQ, excellent reading of the game and ability to look for points at the basket, are significant contributions to the attack of the Warriors. As for his assists, he is 194 successful in the play-offs, occupying 10th place in the historical ranking behind the former glory of Boston, John Havlicek.
In the fourth quarter, rather than decompensating a little, the match having been won, Green was still overflowing with energy to encourage and give instructions to the substitutes on the field.
And to forbid any relaxation: “I must continue like that in this series. Because it’s not going to get any easier. On the contrary. We will have to go up a few more notches”.
