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While the Golden State Warriors haven't celebrated an NBA championship at home since 1956, forward Draymond Green is more than okay with making it more than a 61-year wait for fans in the Bay Area, as long as they get to go back for a parade.
The Warriors beat the Detroit Pistons 4-1 back in the 1955-56 season and have won their next two championships — 1975 (swept Washington Bullets) and 2015 (4-2 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers) on the road.
For the 27-year-old Green, there's nothing sweeter than feeding off the sour taste in someone else's mouth, the same taste the Warriors had last year after squandering a 3-1 lead and watching LeBron James and company celebrate in their homecourt — Oracle Arena.
“It would be very satisfying to do that,” Green told Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “Obviously we've won it here before. It's a good feeling. We're celebrating on their floor, celebrating in their locker room, quieting their crowd. As an athlete, one of the best feelings is going into an opponent's and enemy territory and just silencing their crowd.”
Without getting into further aspects of the enjoyment and reliving past victories, the 6-foot-7 Defensive Player of the Year candidate zoned in to the task at hand, knowing full well that a team with championship pedigree like the Cavs could feed off the smallest hint of victory.
“You don't want to prolong a series and give a team more and more confidence,” Green said. “The opportunity is to win it here so you want to take advantage of that and try to close it out as soon as you can.”
James has other ideas in mind, telling ESPN's Brian Windhorst he's ready to leave it all on the line to keep that from happening.
“My mindset is to try to get every game,” James said Thursday. “Tomorrow's another important opportunity for us and for myself, obviously, to continue the series. It's been a long season, and you hate for it to end this way. So mentally and physically, I got to prepare myself for that.”
