Getty Images Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics.
Draymond Green was the target of some NSFW chants during Game 3 against the Boston Celtics and Marcus Smart thinks it may have got to the Golden State Warriors‘ scrappy forward.
Green has become public enemy No. 1 within the TD Garden and heard the boos every time he touched the ball. The crowd also could be heard frequently chanting “F–K YOU DRAYMOND.”
Green is one to feed off a hostile crowd but Smart thinks the Boston crowd played a role in throwing the 32-year-old veteran off his game.
” When you got an environment like last night, it’s kind of hard not to feed off the energy. It was electrifying. It was chaotic. It was perfect for the timing of it,” Smart told reporters on Thursday. “I definitely think it may have affected Draymond in some way, but we all know Draymond feeds off that as well. It’s kind of hard to say how much of an effect it really had on him because he embraces that, that’s who he is. He takes that on and he uses that to fuel him.”
Smart knows what it’s like to be in Green’s shoes, delivering a similar brand of basketball with his play.
“Every team will tell you, they might not tell you right up front, but they’ll tell you: Marcus and Draymond are two guys we would love to have on our team and two guys we would hate to play against,” Smart said.
While there have been times where Green feeds off being the villain as the visitor, it wasn’t in Game 3. He notched just 2 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists before fouling out early.
“They just talking,” Green told reporters. “It’s not really my job to react to them. So, they did what I expected.”
Warriors Call Out Boston Fans for Chants
The Warriors were not happy with how the crowd behaved during the loss, with guard Klay Thompson calling out the Celtics faithful for setting a bad example.
“It was not a factor [in the loss],” Thompson said. “We’ve played in front of rude fans before. Dropping F-bombs with children in the crowd. Really classy. Good job Boston.”
Green didn’t seem as phased and admitted he played “like s–t.” He believes he can play with more force during Game 4 on Friday as the Warriors look to even things up.
“I think it’s just my approach to the game,” Green said. “If I approach the game differently, there’s no big X’s and O’s adjustment in the NBA Finals. You know what they do. They know what you do. They played with more force in the game tonight, and we have to come out and do that on Friday.”
He’s got the backing of his long-time teammates, who expect Green to be money next time out.
“I know Draymond will come out and play his typical brand of ball that’s very physical, fast-paced, talking trash and just being the ‘Money Green’ that the Dub Nation loves so much and has brought us to heights that the franchise has never seen before,” Thompson said.
Steph Curry Expected to Play in Game 4
Outside of all the talk about the crowd, the Warriors were hoping for the best when it came to the health of superstar guard Stephen Curry. He appears to have avoided anything serious and is expecting to play in Game 4.
“I’m going to play. That’s all I know right now,” Curry told reporters on Thursday. “Get as much recovery and healing as possible and understand how important Game 4 is,” he said. “I’m excited about the opportunity.”
That’s good news for the Warriors, considering Curry is averaging 31.3 points per game on 48.5% shooting from the field and 48.7% from beyond the arc.