Draymond Green did not have a great Game 3 on Wednesday in Boston’s TD Garden. Now his side job as the leader of the “new media” is being spotlighted. But was it a potential factor in his poor performance?
The Golden State Warriors lost 116-100 with Green playing 35 minutes, delivering only two points, and going 1-4 in field goals with four rebounds and three assists.
The Rant
“What the hell was that, Draymond?” Stephen A. Smith screamed into the screen on “First Take” Thursday morning. “We’ve got to stop this nonsense right now. This is a motivational speech, this is not criticizing Draymond Green, this is motivation, my brother. Two points? All of that talking, two points?
“I’ve got no problem with your podcast, brother, I support it, I love listening to you, (and) I hope you keep doing it but guess what, that ain’t the priority right now. Two damn points against the Boston Celtics? That’s two games, Dray, one where you admitted you weren’t yourself, Game 1; Game 3 last night you said you played like you-know-what.”
The fewest Green scored in 30 career Finals games, the two points, and his four rebounds represent the third-fewest. Before this series, Green had been much more effective offensively, averaging 8.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game on 53.9 percent shooting.
The Explanation
“My performance was utterly ridiculous, and I fouled out and all that jazz,” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show” immediately after the game. “I have to hold up my end of the bargain as I had to after Game 1.
“Tonight may have been one of the worst games of my entire career, and I’ll be 100 percent honest, I’ll never be a guy that looks at a box score, but where I felt that I played terrible was my overall impact on the game. I totally outsmarted myself.”
Green attributed his lack of “impact” to letting in too much noise surrounding the game into his head. His game plan was not to get into it with the referee, and he did. Almost certainly, the spirited Boston crowd chanting “f**k Draymond” had an effect, although Draymond seems to have that effect in every arena he plays, especially during the postseason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B7_hCwRgQI
The Podcast
“First Take” NBA analyst Jay Wiliams took note of not only Stephen A Smith but fellow analyst and former NBA player Kendrick Perkins’ criticism of Green via his tweet about Green’s podcast being a distraction.
Look like Draymond was more prepped for his post game podcast than the actual game. Just an observation, never mind me tho. Carry on…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) June 9, 2022
“You’re going to sit up there and address a podcast on a tweet,” Williams said to Perkins on “First Take.” “Let me tell you, my brother, LeBron James, has ‘The Shop’ that he does throughout the regular season. Does that distract him from what he’s doing?
“Everybody is congratulating James on becoming a billionaire with the industry he’s created that started with media while he’s been actually playing as a player. So you can’t sit there and keep the same heat about a player over a podcast when he was the most impactful player in Game 2.”
With the Warriors now in the non-flattering position on the wrong side of the 2-1 series, Green has entered the real crux of being a part of the media, increased scrutiny. That won’t change whether it is new or old.
