The Celtics crowd’s displeasure towards Draymond Green began properly earlier than the sport began and with a refrain of heavy boos throughout pregame introductions.
They made the Warriors ahead understand how a lot they loathed him all through the night time with a endless dose of boos, chants and cursing from all instructions of TD Garden.
“(Expletive) you, Draymond!” the sellout crowd chanted again and again, all night time lengthy.
And when Green lastly headed to the Warriors bench after fouling out with 4:07 remaining, the gang erupted right into a stage of euphoria that was not often even heard for any Celtics made shot or huge play of their pivotal NBA Finals victory, a 116-100 Game 3 triumph.
Wednesday night time was essential for the Celtics as they responded to a Game 2 battering in San Francisco to take a 2-1 sequence lead in these NBA Finals. But contained in the Garden, it might even be remembered because the night time Green formally turned a Celtics villain.
“They did what I expected,” Green mentioned of the Celtics crowd.
But this wasn’t: After he sparked the Warriors to their Game 2 win along with his protection, Green fully no-showed in Game 3 with, given the stakes, most likely his worst efficiency of the playoffs: 2 factors on 1-for-4 taking pictures, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a minus-13.
He had 4 extra fouls (6) than he had factors (2).
How did he really feel like he performed?
“Like (expletive),” Green mentioned, frankly.
“I just think I never found a rhythm, really on both ends of the floor. Not enough force. But just got to find a rhythm quicker.”
That’s a rhythm Green discovered early in Game 2, when he tied up Al Horford for a leap ball on the primary possession and helped pressure a Warriors defensive cease that set the tone for the remainder of the sport.
On Wednesday, not solely had been the followers ready for him, so had been the Celtics. That defensive depth he and the Warriors got here with on Sunday night time by no means arrived, and it was the C’s who had been imposing their will and physicality.
And not that the Warriors depend on Green for scoring – they’ve Steph Curry and Klay Thompson to deal with that – however he gave them completely nothing on that finish. He had zero factors at halftime, and his 2 factors had been his lowest output since Game 4 of the West semifinals in opposition to the Grizzlies.
“I was soft,” Green mentioned. “That’s what was most disappointing to me, for us.”
The Warriors, considerably quietly, had been rated the NBA’s second-best protection this season behind the Celtics. Green is the engineer behind that, along with his fixed depth, his elite defensive intelligence and endless power. But when he doesn’t carry it like he did in Game 2, that’s when performances like Game 3 occur.
The Celtics had 68 factors at halftime as they absorbed little or no stress or problem from the Warriors protection. And simply as importantly, they dominated the glass with a 47-31 benefit general, together with 15 offensive rebounds, a product of their offensive motion placing the Warriors in spin cycles.
“(It) goes back to our point of attack defense and you know, that starts with me,” Green mentioned. “If we management the purpose of assault, it places you in a greater place general on the court docket. And so then like I mentioned, you enable them to get just a few, you then simply begin to get the bounces and issues beginning to go your method. …
“I think that’s just a force thing,” Green mentioned of the Celtics’ 15 offensive rebounds, which translated to 22 second-chance factors. “Then once you get comfortable, you establish that presence, then the ball just kind of finds you. You start to get the bounces and the break. … Just got to start the game off better.”
The Warriors have been on this place earlier than. They trailed 2-1 within the 2015 NBA Finals earlier than reeling off three consecutive wins over the Cavaliers for his or her first championship. Klay Thompson mentioned after Wednesday’s Game 3 that he was getting “big 2015 vibes.”
To come again, they know they want Green to be higher.
“He had a tough game, but I trust Draymond as much as I trust anybody,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr mentioned. “He always bounces back from losses and from tough nights individually. He’ll be back on Friday.”
Green is aware of it, too.
“We’ll be better. I’ll be better,” Green mentioned. “Come out, win Game 4. Go back 2-2.”
And the brand new Celtics villain, this time, is hoping to reverse the script.
“I embrace it. I enjoy it,” Green mentioned of his villainy, and the limitless chants and boos. “I didn’t really feed off of it tonight. I don’t think I fed off much tonight. … But yeah, that’s something that I enjoy. Waste a lot of energy talking to me, so it’s great. It’s great. Looking forward to Friday.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com