Green enjoying living up to moment
Please do not try to staple the “Splash Triplet” tag on Draymond Green’s forehead. For one thing, any time someone sticks that on him he goes 0-for- the- followinggame.
And besides, he’s nobody’s cute nickname. He is, as his mother, Mary Babers- Green, taught him from childhood, Draymond Green. His own special self.
And Green was special again Sunday in the Warriors’ 101- 86 Game 1 victory over Memphis. After almost stealing the spotlight from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the first round, he once again came out ready on national TV for the game against the Grizzlies.
Curry found Green for a wide- open three- pointer to start the Warriors’ scoring. In the first six minutes Green hit three three- pointers while Thompson and Curry had none. The Warriors were rolling and never stopped.
“When he makes shots, especially early in the game, it’s huge for us to get the emotions going,” Curry said. “Obviously, everybody was pumped up, the ball starts to move and hop, and that’s a good look for us.”
A good look? That’s putting it mildly. Every-
thing the Warriors are doing right now is blinding. Dazzling. It’s like looking at the sun — you need shades or Golden State’s brilliance will scorch your retinas.
Sure, there are qualifiers: The Warriors didn’t have to contend with Mike Conley, the Grizzlies’ floor leader. Green and Andrew Bogut got into foul trouble and sat for much of the second half. And the team had 16 unsightly turnovers, leading to 18 Memphis points and giving head coach Steve Kerr a chance to nitpick about something at Monday’s practice.
Oh, and co- owner Joe Lacob seemed oddly subdued in his courtside seat, perhaps tired from being ringside at Saturday night’s fight in Las Vegas.
But despite those quibbles, this is the Warriors’ moment. With San Antonio gone, the path to the NBA Finals is wide open, well paved and beckoning. They have, as will be announced Monday, the league’s MVP in Curry. The best record. The best vibe.
This is Curry’s moment, Thompson’s moment, Bogut’s moment.
And Green’s moment. Which is no surprise to him.
“We thought that from the beginning,” Green said. “No disrespect for the Spurs or anyone else. We have confidence in ourselves. We feel like we can beat anyone.”
Green was Mr. Endurance in the first playoff series, averaging a team- high 41.6 minutes per game and even playing through a sprained ankle that he rolled in two different games. Kerr said he thought Green would particularly benefit from the lengthy layoff between series.
“The days off definitely helped,” Green said, but he added that the Warriors’ uptempo practices during the week helped keep them in rhythm.
Green and Bogut had their hands full with the Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in the post. Though those two combined for 41 points, nobody else really hurt the Warriors.
“I enjoy the challenge,” Green said. “It’s always fun for me to play against those guys. I enjoy guarding the post. It’s your chance to show your toughness, and you can bang a little bit.”
Green and Bogut picked up their fourth personal fouls on the same possession midway through the third quarter. That sent them to the bench for much of the rest of the game, but the Warriors maintained such a large lead, their absence wasn’t a concern. The reduced minutes for Green brought his playoff per- game average down to 38.6.
“Just have to play a little smarter,” Green said. “May have to give up a bucket here and there rather than fouling. Pick and choose my spots better.”
Not everyone agreed with the call. Sitting in the stands, watching her son, BabersGreen tweeted, “Come on REFS ... you know that wasn’t a foul on Dray!”
The new queen of Twitter commented as much as she could, through spotty Oracle Arena Wi- Fi, which was making her angry.
“She gets mad at a lot of things,” Green said, laughing.
He was thrilled to have his mother in town for Game 1. She had spent the first round tweeting from her couch and was afraid she couldn’t get away from her job as campus security for a middle school in Saginaw, Mich. But she came to town over the weekend and spent Saturday making her son laugh and Sunday watching him bang, yap and score 16 points ( including four threepointers).
“She’s trying to leave ( Monday) morning,” he said. “Y’all can talk her into staying if y’all want some more stories. I definitely would like her to stay out for Game 2.”
Apparently, enough people talked Babers- Green into it. By the end of the day she tweeted that she was calling her boss and added, “Stay, Stay, Stay for Dray, Playoff Stay” with more emojis than a 13- year- old could muster.
She wants to see what her son and the Warriors do in Game 2. Who doesn’t?