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Draymond Green has evolved into one of the most interesting personalities in the NBA, and perhaps all of sports — the vocal leader and emotional engine for one of the most compelling NBA teams in recent memory.
Green has agreed to give The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears an exclusive look into his life on and off the court, via a playoff diary that Green hopes will end with a second straight NBA championship for the Golden State Warriors.
Draymond Green Diary #19
The Golden State Warriors routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-77 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The Warriors now own a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Green scored a game-high 28 points and nailed a game-high five 3-pointers while also earning seven rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes. The NBA All-Star also received a signed FC Barcelona jersey from Brazilian superstar Neymar in the Warriors’ locker room after the game. The series continues with Game 3 in Cleveland on Wednesday night.
“I am not really a guy who looks and says, ‘Man, I got it going.’ I just try to take the shots that are there. Tonight, they were falling for me. Coach [Steve] Kerr told me that when you get those shots in rhythm, take them. With the exception of the dribble, dizzle, diddly, doo shot I took in the third quarter, they were all rhythm shots.
“I got a text from [Kerr] last night … [He said], ‘If you take those shots in rhythm, it keeps the flow of our offense going and it will be a good series for you.’
“Coming into the game[s], we do expect to win. I’m not shocked by the way we won them. We’ve done what we’re supposed to do. But I didn’t expect to win by 15 the first game and 30 today. I can’t say that I expected that. That is a very good team we’re playing against.
“We just did what we were supposed to do. Take care of home court. I don’t think we played our best. But going back to Cleveland we will be way tougher than when we’re here. We got to go there with an even better focus level. Better intensity. Do a better job of taking care of the ball and continuing to defend like we’ve done in these last two ballgames.
“I don’t think we’ve played very great at all. I think we’ve played exceptional on the defensive end. On offense, we can be a lot better. Going to Cleveland, we know we have to be better offensively to go in there and win.
“[Neymar is] one of the top two, three best players in all of soccer. To get a jersey signed to me was pretty cool. That will definitely be getting framed. So I’m excited back. I didn’t give him a signed jersey back. He has a Steph Curry jersey signed. He really didn’t need mine. I don’t think he wanted mine.
“I watch [soccer] a little bit. I’m not like [teammates] Harrison [Barnes], LB [Leandro Barbosa] or those guys. But I know some of the top teams. When those [star] guys are playing, I definitely like to watch. But I’m not like [Barnes and Barbosa], like a fanatic.
“Going to Cleveland, you can’t go there and relax. It’s going to be a lot tougher to win there. So, there is no relaxing. The problem is when you’re at home, you kind of relax. But you’re going into a hostile environment that you can get ran out of if you’re not careful. We have to make sure we are focused and we keep our foot on the gas pedal.”