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Draymond Green played like s–t in Game 3. He admitted it.
Look no further than these StatMuse tweets about the Warriors’ voting leader after the disappointing 116-100 loss to the Boston Celtics, who fell 2-1 in the series.
Not good. Not good at all. So when Stephen A. Smith went to First Take this morning, there was a good chance Green would be in the eye of his storm.
Smith phrased it as “a motivational speech,” but daggers mingled in his nearly three-minute tirade. (And the bombastic speaker begins with high praise for Green and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, while also making a point of saying that he loves listening to The Draymond Green Show podcast.)
“That’s two games of dray,” Smith claimed. “In one game you admitted that you are not yourself. Game 1. Game 3 last night, you said you played like you know what. Are you ready for someone to look at you and tell you, Draymond Green, you’re about to cost the Golden State Warriors two titles. When you lost in 2016, if you don’t get banned from the game for racking up too many technical fouls (blatant fouls, actually), you’ll win all that streak in five. That’s a title.
“Well, if you lose to Boston,” Smith continued his heated monologue. “Because you didn’t show up in Game 1. Game 3, you didn’t show up. That we cannot rely on you showing up to more than one game at a time. That’s going to be a problem. Steph Curry needs you brother. Klay Thompson needs you, brother. Jordan Poole needs you brother. It’s time. Period.”
RELATED: Steve Kerr, Klay Thompson’s sarcastic thoughts on Celtics fans’ Draymond junkies
Now the motivation part.
“You have to show up,” Smith asserted. “The same things you did in Game 2. To look everyone in the face. be disruptive. Adjust screens and picks. be physical. play with violence Let the Boston Celtics know they have to deal with you. you have to do that They all can’t go 3-1 to Boston. You don’t win against Boston three times in a row. This is Draymond. That’s it. No longer. You are a Hall of Famer. You are a triple champion. But you have to play. Because right now, Al Horford looks better than you. He shoots the ball better. He bounces the ball better. He defends better. You have to change that.”
There are parts of his tirade that are certainly open to debate, but even Warriors fans will agree that Draymond Green is essential to making this happen if Golden State is to win another title.
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