While most NBA Finals observers might say Draymond Green has played poorly in three games throughout five so far in the series, Steve Kerr would argue otherwise.
The Warriors coach joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” Tuesday to discuss Game 6 of the NBA Finals, as his team has a chance to close out the Boston Celtics Thursday night. Kerr called in live from Beantown and also spent some time discussing Draymond’s impact on the the Finals and their relationship over the years:
“I think everything has been kinda been overhyped, because that’s what happens in Finals there’s just so much coverage,” Kerr told hosts Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto. “In Game 4 he played really well. Down the stretch he made huge plays. He ended up with near double-digit assists and rebounds, he had a bunch of steals. His defensive force the last two games has just been devastating, and is always the key to our identity on the defensive side of things. Draymond’s been great. There’s always gonna be a lot of chatter, good and bad. You just sort of roll with it. He’s done a good job of that. He’s responded well to all that stuff and he’s responded well for us.”
Draymond and the Dubs fell flat in Game 1, but he ramped up the intensity in a series-tying Game 2 victory, forcing a jump ball and turnover on the initial possession of the contest. He played the villain in Game 3 and Game 4 at Boston, scoring four points with nine fouls combined.
Kerr liked what he saw out of Green in Game 4 despite his two-point scoring output, as he also grabbed nine rebounds, dished eight assists and yoinked four steals. On Monday night, Draymond scored eight points with eight rebounds and six assists before fouling out with 3 minutes left.
Of course, to try and explain his game in just traditional box score numbers doesn’t capture Green’s impact on the game.
Kerr might seem like a calming presence for the Warriors, but Draymond said on his Game 5 podcast that he and his coach are actually very similar. We played a podcast clip for Kerr and he had to agree.
“Draymond’s dead on,” Kerr said. “Where we’re similar is that we are kinda maniacal in our competitiveness. We have butted heads over the years, based on that competition, that level of competition. I think our relationship has never been better. I think Draymond is right. It takes to build relationships, especially in a super-competitive environment, when you’ve got a couple of hot heads like us, in such a competitive league and world that we live. We’ve gotten to know each other so well. We trust each other. I lean on him for advice during the games, he leans on me. We sort of collaborate, figure things out together. It’s been wonderful. You can’t win without a guy like that. I like that challenge that he brings to me everyday to make sure that I’m on top of my game, and I try to do the same thing for him.”
Aside from their eight seasons together on the Warriors, Kerr and Green also won an Olympic gold medal this past summer in Tokyo. The duo has collaborated on three NBA championship runs before, now they’re one game away from earning a fourth ring together.
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