Getty Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after a call during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Five of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals at Chase Center on May 26, 2022.
Before the Miami Heat‘s season came to an abrupt end following a heartbreaking 100-96 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the team forged an incredible comeback win in Game 6 when almost everyone, in particular, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, said they were finished.
After the Warriors punched their ticket to the NBA Finals following their Game 5 win over the Dallas Mavericks on May 26, the 32-year-old center boldly announced, “We’re gonna play Boston.”
However, Jimmy Butler’s superstar 47-point performance propelled the team to live another day after beating Boston 111-103 at the TD Garden, and Heat captain Udonis Haslem, along with forward P.J. Tucker, personally clapped backed to Green during their respective postgame press conferences.
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Draymond Green on Thursday: “We’re gonna play Boston.”
P.J. Tucker after Miami won Game 6: “Tell Draymond I said I appreciate it.”
A little motivation for Miami in Game 6 perhaps… 🍿
Green spoke out on the Heat backlash on Tuesday, May 31 while appearing on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, and doubled down on his initial stance that he considered Miami out of the NBA Finals running after watching their back-to-back devastating losses in Game 4 and Game 5.
“I thought there was no chance,” Green told Cowherd. “Obviously, Jimmy Butler had one of those Jimmy Butler-type games that we all now know that he’s capable of, and we didn’t just figure that out with that game. We been knew Jimmy was capable of that.
“The reality is, if he didn’t get 47, they didn’t have a chance of winning. He had 35 last night [during Game 7], no chance at winning. But I was extremely shocked that they were able to go in without Tyler Herro and go into Boston and win Game 6. I thought there was no chance.”
Green Said, ‘It Was Exciting To Know That People Pay That Much Attention to My Words’
“Tell Draymond thank you.”
Heat took Dray’s words personally 🔥
On Monday, May 30, before Green appeared on Cowherd’s podcast, the veteran broke his silence on the viral controversial comments to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.
While Tucker said during his postgame interview after Game 6, “Tell Draymond I appreciate it,” Haslem truly went off against Green. “Draymond broke the code,” Haslem told Yahoo! Sports. “You ain’t supposed to say some s*** like that. That’s disrespectful. He know better than that… I didn’t sleep much after he said that. That was some bulls***.”
“Draymond broke the code. You ain’t supposed to say some sh*t like that. That’s disrespectful. He let Shaq peer pressure him into saying some sh*t he ain’t got no business saying. I didn’t sleep much after he said that. That was some bullsh*t.”
– Udonis Haslem on Draymond Green
However, the Warriors’ three-time All-Star took the backlash with happy surprise and great pride.
“It was exciting to know that people pay that much attention to my words and what I say,” Green told Spears. “Wow. They really watched what I had to say and that motivated them? I’m getting better at this motivational thing. That’s great.”
‘Upgrades are Coming’ for the Heat, NBA Insider Says
Not the result we wanted but proud of how far we’ve come.
We’ll be back.
While the Warriors prepare to face the Celtics in the NBA Finals, Game 1 starts Thursday night, the Heat are in regroup mode, and according to Bleacher Report’s NBA Insider Adam Borai, the league can expect Miami to come back with a vengeance next season.
Borai tweeted on May 30, “The Miami Heat lost to the one team that makes Pat Riley’s blood boil. So rest assured, the upgrades are coming. Jimmy Butler deserves to win a championship in Miami.”
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Warriors Star Doubles Down on Heat Disrespect: ‘There Was No Chance’