Getty Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown.
Saturday night will see the Golden State Warriors open up their playoff run against the Sacramento Kings. While the Warriors have been battling up at the top over the last decade, the Kings have been watching from the couch. Game 1 against Golden State will mark Sacramento’s first playoff matchup since 2006.
Ahead of the Dubs’ meeting with the Kings, Draymond Green revisited some preseason comments he had made about his squad’s first-round opponent.
During an appearance on “The Shop” last year, Green told LeBron James that it’s tough to get up for regular-season games against bad teams, citing the Kings as an example.
.@money23green HATES playing against bad NBA teams. 🤣
The four-time NBA champion shares why he dislikes playing against the bad teams in the league on #TheShop. Out tomorrow at 12pm ET / 9am PT on our YouTube! 💈
The former Defensive Player of the Year recently joined Marc Stein and Chris Haynes on the “#thisleague UNCUT” podcast, and defended the earlier comment.
“You know me, I’ll always stand on everything I say,” Green said on the April 11 episode of the podcast. “The Kings have sucked. Since I’ve been in the NBA, they have sucked. Have not made the playoffs since I’ve been in the NBA.”
Green also discussed the appointment of former Warriors assistant coach, Mike Brown, as head coach of the Kings.
“I also said on that episode now that the Kings have Mike Brown, I expect them to change,” Green said. “I also had De’Aaron Fox on my podcast and told Fox, ‘Fox, this is on you. For the Kings to get to the playoffs, it’s on you my brother…I give credit where credit is due. What Mike Brown has gone to Sacramento and done is absolutely amazing. I expect him to continue taking that franchise upward in the right direction. I give them their props. They’re doing a great job.”
Kings’ Mike Brown Discusses Facing Warriors in Playoffs
Brown was recently questioned about facing his former team in the postseason. He told reporters that the series doesn’t mean anything extra to him, citing the short commute as the most exciting aspect.
“Nothing. I mean it’s a short commute, that’s about it,” he replied via the Sacramento Kings YouTube channel. “I’ve still got my place down there, so I may swing down and check on that, that’s about it. It doesn’t matter who we play. Just like I’m sure with the rest of the teams, it doesn’t really matter who they play.”
Brown was then asked of his relationship with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
“Yeah we’re close. We talk, not all the time, but we talk throughout the season, exchange texts, talk on the phone. So, we’ve been kind of in each other’s year throughout the course of the year, so it hadn’t been anything different than what he’s already said.”
Warriors’ Steve Kerr Endorses Kings’ Mike Brown for Coach of the Year
Brown’s aforementioned comments of the continued contact between the two shows that the relationship between Kerr and Brown seems to be pretty solid.
Kerr had some high praise for his former colleague, prior to the final regular-season meeting between the two clubs last week, endorsing him for the Coach of the Year award.
“It’s almost foregone conclusion that he’ll be Coach of the Year this year,” Kerr said via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.
Kerr on Mike Brown: “It’s almost foregone conclusion that he’ll be Coach of the Year this year.”
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Warriors’ Draymond Green Sounds Off on Mike Brown Ahead of Kings Playoff Series