Draymond Green says Pelicans ‘weren’t cut like that’ during scuffle
Draymond #Draymond
Draymond Green was the unfortunate center of attention in the first half of the Golden State Warriors’ 120-109 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.
He was involved in two game-stopping kerfuffles that involved him being overly physical with an opposing player, as he is wont to do. The first happened after a flagrant foul to Brandon Ingram that led to Green receiving his 17th technical of the year, and the second was a literal kick to the head.
Surprisingly, neither incident stopped him from jawing at the Pelicans, particularly CJ McCollum, as officials tried to sort everything out. Speaking with TNT’s Chris Hanyes after the game, the Warriors vet shared his thoughts about what happened and gave a TV-appropriate version of what he was saying to his opponents.
“I fouled B.I., good hard foul, and CJ started talking,” Green said. “You know, don’t start talking, just play the game and enjoy what y’all are doing. They were playing a good game and he started talking, and that’s my type of game; I like that. That’s what I do, I grew up in Saginaw, Michigan; that’s how we play. Once they wanted to go there, I enjoyed that.
“I just told them they weren’t cut like that; that’s not what they do,” Green added. “We’re all good guys, I’m not acting like I’m a bad guy. I like to talk and play. That really gets me going, and that’s not everybody’s game.”
It’s also not everyone’s cup of tea, and that includes Warriors general manager Bob Myers who spoke to Green at the end of the first half.
Green told reporters after the game that Warriors GM Bob Myers said, “Listen. Alright, you proved your point. You may have been right, but if you stay that way, guys are going to follow you. If you turn it around right now and get back in the huddle, guys will follow that.”
It’s the sort of approach a team takes with a player they can trust, even if they like toeing the line of what’s legal during a basketball game. Warriors coach Steve Kerr showed his level of trust in Green by putting him back into the game despite the Dubs forward having four fouls.
“Coach trust me, Steve trust me to play with those four fouls,” Green said. “And they made the decision to go at me the very next play and it was a turnover. And that changes the game, because all of a sudden you thought you’d get my fifth and now you’re allowing me to talk again and that was beautiful.”
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To some, the fact that the Warriors had embarked on a second-half explosion that allowed them to come back from a 17-point halftime deficit and win an important late season game was beautiful. To Draymond, the beauty is in being able to talk s—t to his opponents, and there’s something rather beautiful in that.