Prior to Game 4 against the New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made the decision to deploy his best five-man lineup at the start of the game. Somewhat predictably, the team enjoyed great success behind the “Hamptons 5” and, in conjunction, cruised to a blowout win to take complete control of the series.
While Kerr’s decision certainly had something to do with the final outcome, there was a behind-the-scenes decision that also contributed greatly and it came from the mind of Draymond Green.
Following the victory, Chris Haynes of ESPN caught up with Green, who indicated that he sent a 4 am text message to Kevin Durant that “challenged” the All-Star to have a big game.
“I just challenged him to be who he is,” Green said. “I had to tell him. I didn’t see him attacking or being aggressive enough on both ends of the floor like we need him to be. You know, I don’t hold back. When I see something’s wrong, I have to voice my opinion. There were no hard feelings. We’re just trying to win a ballgame.”
In Game 3, Durant struggled by his lofty standards, scoring only 22 points on questionable efficiency in a lopsided and surprising defeat. That effort seemingly prompted Green, in unusual fashion, to prod his fellow star. And it worked: Durant exploded for a game-best 38 points (on 15 of 27 shooting) to go along with nine rebounds and five assists.
Following the revelation of Green’s message, Durant shed a bit of additional light on what transpired. “In short, [Green] said don’t worry about s— else but playing with force and being aggressive,” Durant said. “And I tried to do that as much as possible today. I wasn’t aggressive in Game 3, and I knew that. It’s good to know that teammates got your back. It was good to hear that from him.”
It should be noted that Durant was likely capable of this kind of showing even without special attention from Green but, on the heels of the former Michigan State star famously recruiting Durant to Oakland in the first place, the narrative here is too perfect to ignore.
Moving forward, the Warriors absolutely need the A-plus version of Durant (and a healthy, effective Stephen Curry) to move past the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. On Sunday in Game 4, the NBA world saw that and they can, at least partially, pay tribute to Green’s late-night messaging.
