Draymond Green Says Warriors Will Be Just Fine, But Will They?

The Boston Celtics' fourth-quarter blitzkrieg, er, insurrection was one of the more shocking things we've seen in a championship series across sports in a long, long time. Not really so much that the plucky Al Horfords won the game but that they won it so decidedly that they were able to pull their starters. We all know that any elimination dance doesn't truly begin until the visiting team wins a game on hostile floor. Some of us be wondering if we know, deep down, that this series is already over — even if the Golden State Warriors entered favored and won't go down without a fight.

And Draymond Green & Co. shouldn't take that question personally. Because when one realizes that a historic performance from Stephen Curry was wasted — and that Jayson Tatum shot 3-for-17, which he won't do again — it sure feels as though everything was aligning for the Dubs to seize control and they simply loosened their grip, fumbled the bag, and allowed Derrick White, Marcus Smart, and Horford to crush their dreams by going 15-for-23 from beyond the arc.

Which probably won't happen again, per Green and most reputable statisticians. Here's his assessment during postgame availability as he brainstormed for his next podcast.

"They stayed within striking distance and they made shots late," he said. "We'll be fine. We'll figure out the ways we can stop them from getting those 3s and take them away. I don't think it was a rhythm thing. We pretty much dominated the game for the first 41, 42 minutes, so we'll be fine."

"They hit 21 3s and Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Derrick White combined for 15," Green continued. "Those guys are good shooters, but they combined for what, 15 out of eight, Smart seven, eight, 15-for-23. Is my math right? Eight, seven and eight. Eight, seven and eight. Yea, that's 23, right? 15-for-23 from those guys. Eh. We'll be fine."

It is unclear to me, a person watching at home, how the team that dominates the first 41 or 42 minutes of a fame can be trailing at halftime. That's why we need the promised new media era. At home it looked a lot like Golden State won the first quarter and Boston won the second. Then the Warriors made a statement in the third quarter and appeared destined to an easy, breezy victory.

Then sports happened.

I'm not knocking Green because he is both awesome and needs to keep perspective. And if we're being honest, I hope his team responds and ultimately lifts the Larry O'Brien because the other team is from Boston. But I have some concerns.

Boston looked like the better team in Game 1. The hungrier team. The team with more options. Golden State had so many factors going for them and just ...squandered it in weird and historic fashion.

Green believes his team will be just fine. I'm not so sure. Because what would it have looked like if it were cause for concern?