Just imagine the reception Draymond Green will get from the fans in Memphis for Game 2.
In Game 1 on Sunday night, the Warriors forward waved his arms and danced off the floor after getting ejected for a controversial Flagrant 2 foul call on Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke. Green will be back in the starting lineup for Game 2 on Tuesday night and is sure to hear an earful from the crowd. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. PT and you can hear the action on 95.7 The Game, radio home of the Golden State Warriors:
Draymond isn't like most players. Others might hate the criticism, but Green often feeds off it. Hell, he got booed throughout All-Star weekend in Cleveland and he wasn't even playing..
"He relishes it. He loves it. He loves playing the villain," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I don't think it's a bad thing at all. Sometimes it brings the best out of him."
Clarke had some choice words for Green after the game, saying "It's not shocking that he did that. It's something he's done in the past."
Green caught wind of the statements and mocked them on his Instagram story, so those two should be in for an entertaining battle all night.
Every time Green touches the ball on Tuesday, he'll probably hear it from the boo birds. And he'll be just fine.
"I've been through the biggest battles with Dray and he embraces those moments," Klay Thompson said. "He embraces being the villain and we need that. You don't wanna take away what he does best – that's his fire and his energy. He's one of the greatest trash talkers I've ever been around. You do not want to take that edge from him. Without that edge, he's not Draymond."
In general, the Warriors are expecting the Grizzlies to bring a lot of intensity and energy from the starting tip. The undersized Warriors outrebounded the Grizzlies 52-47 in Game 1. Memphis doesn't want to be down 2-0 heading back to Chase Center this weekend.
"We've been in this situation a million times," Kerr said. "This will be the most physical game we play all year. Just under the circumstances, who were playing, on the road. They're coming after us. Our older guys know that. Our younger guys may not quite understand it until they feel it."
Thompson reflected back on the 2015 Western Conference semifinals – when the Grizzlies had players like Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen and Jeff Green – and the Warriors won the series in six games after going down 2-1.
"I think they'll probably be crashing the glass hard," Thompson said. "I'm a big guard. I love that stuff. It doesn't really faze me and I don't think it fazes my teammates. I played a Grizzlies team before back in 2015 that was very physical. I think we're prepared for it."
Thompson popped up on the injury report after "banging" his knee in Game 1, according to Kerr, but it's not expected to limit him in Game 2.
