In the Warriors’ Game 2 decimation of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, it wasn’t Steph Curry and Klay Thompson wreaking all their usual havoc. No, it was their fiery forward, Draymond Green, who stepped up like he’s done so many times this season during his team’s historic run to rain down devastation on his opponents. He had a game-high 28 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, while shooting a blistering 5-of-8 from downtown.
Not only is he one of the best trash-talkers the league has to offer, he’s also one of its most physical players, a distinction he’s drawn ire for in the past, most recently during the Warriors’ conference finals showdown with OKC when he landed a now-infamous kick to Steven Adams’ midsection. Aside from maintaining that the contact was inadvertent, Green essentially refused to apologize, both for that and for any number of previous incidences that might have been deemed questionable.
It doesn’t matter to Green that his kick almost caused him to be suspended during his team’s precarious, potentially history-altering series against the Thunder for racking up too many flagrant foul points or that his next two technical fouls will likewise result in a suspension. Green’s presence is what gives the Warriors’ their jagged edge, and he’s not about to change that. Via Dan Woike of The Orange Country Register:
“There is no ‘too far’ for him,” Travis Walton, one of Green’s former Michigan State teammates, said.
Green agrees.
“Absolutely not,” he said defiantly. “I’ll cross any line to win.”
Not that Green needs to do a whole lot of line-crossing at this point, but he and the Warriors certainly learned their lesson the hard way when Green struggled early in the series against the Thunder and put their entire season in jeopardy. He’s been back to his old self ever since and has shown zero signs of letting up any time soon. As a result, the Warriors look as invincible as they ever have as they take a commanding 2-0 series lead to Cleveland for Game 3 on Wednesday.
