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The Golden State Warriors had a golden opportunity to gain the upper hand in their NBA Finals matchup against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Instead, they were the inferior team throughout Game 3, finding themselves on the wrong end of a 16-point beatdown by the end.
And while the hoops intelligentsia had a lot to say about the Dubs’ woeful effort, perhaps no player caught as much flak as Draymond Green. In the wake of the loss — during which he fouled out with just two points — Green became a punching bag for pundits who felt that continuing to do his podcast was affecting him and his team in a negative way.
If that weren’t enough, New Orleans Pelicans star CJ McCollum — who’s now dabbling in punditry with ESPN — ran into Green outside of the Warriors locker room after the game and took the opportunity to inform the four-time All-Star that he was picking the C’s to win the title.
Rest assured, though, Draymond wasted no time in hitting McCollum with a vicious retort.
The Exchange
As relayed by Yahoo Sports scribe Chris Haynes, who witnessed the interaction between the two ballers, McCollum wanted to be sure that Green got his Finals take from the proverbial horse’s mouth. So, the Pels guard seized upon the chance to come clean to him.
“I’ve got to tell you this. I picked Boston to win Game 3, I picked you guys to win Game 4. But ultimately, I’ve got the Celtics winning the Finals,” the high-scoring guard told Green, per Haynes. “I just want you to hear it from me first before you hear me say it on TV.”
While confessing such a thing feels like an incredible showing of respect from McCollum, the Dubs star’s response to the actual prediction was peak-Draymond.
In other words: utterly savage.
“That’s fine. Those Celtics will still be ringless just like you. Respect,” he proclaimed before walking off with what Haynes described as “a smirk” on his face.
At that point, all McCollum could do was marvel at how Green had shaded him, as well as the Celtics, in one fell swoop. “Damn, that was a good ass comeback,” McCollum said to himself as Green made his exit. “But, hey, he heard it from me.”
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Draymond Sounds Off on Celtics Fans
Unsurprisingly, Green was also receiving earfuls from the Beantown faithful during Wednesday night’s contest. So much so, in fact, that his wife, Hazel Renee, fired off an angry Instagram post taking them to task for what she considered to be “disgusting” behavior.
For his part, though, Green’s not sweating the reaction that he’s getting at the Garden.
“I’m from Saginaw, Michigan,” he said. “There are a lot rougher things that goes on in my life than fans yelling. It is what it is. They ain’t yelling at nobody who doesn’t matter. They must know what the world knows.
“It’s all how you look at it. They’re going to spend all their time focused on me, then clearly, you’re living rent-free in their head. It’s all in their head.”
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