There's no bigger stage in basketball than the NBA Finals, and with the big spotlight comes potential for immense scrutiny. That was the case on Friday night, as Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr surprisingly benched starting forward Draymond Green in the fourth quarter in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Green, who finished with two points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and four steals on the night, played a significantly better overall game Friday as opposed to Wednesday's Game 3. The Warriors forward shot just 1-of-7 from the field, however, and continued to struggle with the Celtics' length and athleticism.
With about seven and a half minutes left and the Warriors down 90-86, Steve Kerr pulled Draymond Green from the game, along with Nemanja Bjelica, inserting Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins to a lineup with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole.
The Warriors would then go on a run, outscoring the Celtics 11-4 to take a three-point lead. Kerr then re-inserted Green to the lineup with about three minutes remaining. Green then found Curry for a big three-pointer to put Golden State up six, and they never looked back.
After the game, both Steve Kerr and Draymond Green were asked about pulling Green from the lineup and if he needed to be talked to in the moment about the big decision.
Both coach and player essentially said, ‘no,' trusting in each other and their teammates to do what was necessary to pull out the victory. In the end, Kerr did go back to Green, who came up with a few loose balls, clutch steals, and big-time dimes.
As promised, Green recorded another episode of The Draymond Green Show when he arrived back at his Boston hotel fresh off the Game 4 victory. There, Green addressed the benching and how he viewed it.
“Someone asked if Coach [Steve] Kerr talked to me about it,” Draymond Green explained. “Absolutely not. Nor did he need to.”
Green then went on for a few minutes explaining why he didn't have an issue with it.
“I be shocked when teams — I've been struggling, as we all can see. I played a better game tonight, better overall game, but definitely was struggling from the field, struggling on the offensive end. And I be shocked when teams feel like ‘Oh man, something is working for us, but we have to go back to this guy because of a resumé, because of a contract, because of whatever reason people feel that they need to go back to them. This is the playoffs. I don't get caught up in — As long as we win the game, whether I'm playing, or Wigs is playing, or Loon is playing, or whoever else is playing.. You could throw whoever out there. As long as we win, I really don't care. The whole notion of ‘oh man, you have to check in with certain guys if you're gonna take them out of the game or if you think it's better for the team. I think that's ridiculous. I watch teams every year in the playoffs not sub guys that they know they should sub and they lose. So the fact that Steve went away from me for a little while… Was I pissed and frustrated? Absolutely. Seven minutes to go in an extremely important game. You can't go down 3-1 — you don't wanna go down 3-1 — and I'm coming out of the game.”
Instead of letting his frustrations get the best of him, Green remained engaged in the game with the help of three Warriors teammates: Juan Toscano-Anderson, Chris Chiozza, and Gary Payton II.
“I was livid, but I credit my teammates,” Green added. “Juan Toscano-Anderson. When you're trying to win a championship, this is where everything matters and everyone matters. I credit Juan Toscano-Anderson. He was in my ear. Not only was he in my ear the whole night, but when I was frustrated when I came out the game at the seven and a half minute mark, he was in my ear. Chris Chiozza was in my ear. Gary Payton II was in my ear. And it was huge because I was able to respond due to their positive energy that they were pouring into me. I was able to respond and make a few big plays.”
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Draymond Green's impact on the defensive side of the ball is well-documented, but he's struggled mightily to not be a liability simply because he's not shooting the ball well and he's not being aggressive enough looking to score the ball. In past years, the Steve Kerr-led Warriors offense was at it's best when Green was putting the ball on the floor looking to attack or posting up.
ClutchPoints was able to ask Green about how he can get more involved, either via drives or post ups, and if's that's something he even thinks he needs to do for this offense.
“I think I can,” Green said before responding more assertively. “I will. I have to be more aggressive on both sides of the ball, not just defense or offense. I think the game ties together, all goes hand-in-hand. When you're flowing on one side, can you flow on the other.
“We are a much better team when I'm aggressive offensively, so I have to be that for this team. I've always prided myself on giving the team what it needs in order to win. I think this team will need more of that for us to win, so I have to be better on that side, for sure.”
The Warriors, fresh off re-taking home-court advantage from the Boston Celtics, will travel to San Francisco on Saturday and prepare for Monday's critical Game 5.
This series will mark the 31st time that the NBA Finals have been tied at 2-2. In the previous 30 instances, the team that wins Game 5 has gone on to win the series 73.3% of the time (22-8). The Warriors have not lost back-to-back games all postseason, holding a 6-0 record after losses. The Celtics, however, have a 7-0 record after losses in the postseason, including 1-0 in the NBA Finals.
Something's got to give.