Draymond Green: “You have to block out the noise”
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green called media noise “wishy washy”, saying they change what they say every day depending on which teams are winning.
The Golden State Warriors head in to Game 2 tonight with the pressure on after suffering a home loss in Game 1 to the Boston Celtics. The social media and sports news buzz has been about trashing Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and the Warriors after they were outplayed 40-16 in the 4th quarter of Game 1.
With the home-court loss, the Celtics have become the favorites to win and put even more pressure on the Warriors to win Game 2 in San Francisco. The Celtics have won road games in 26 consecutive playoff series, an NBA record, and are 8-2 on the road. At home, however, they’re just 5-4.
Before even reading his Twitter feed, Draymond Green assumed what people were saying: that the Warriors players should be spending every second of their lives practicing between games and nothing else. The Warriors have been to the finals enough times to know how to keep their focus. But that doesn’t stop the trolls from trolling.
“It’s the world we live in. Clickbait, headlines, who can get the most views, who can say the most outlandish thing,” said Green. “That’s what makes this sport what it is. That’s what makes the revenue what they are.”
Green was right. The messages after Game 1 were mainly criticisms of the Warriors players and what they could and should have done better. Green knows that it’s better to try and tune out the noise.
“Ultimately, for us, you have to be able to block the noise out. Because the noise is going to be there,” said Green. “And it’s so wishy washy. If we come out and win tomorrow, it’s ‘everything is back to normal - the Warriors are fine, they’re going to go on the road, you know they can win a playoff game on the road.’”
“You can’t get caught up in who’s saying what because the reality is, if you spend your time worried about that or trying to keep up with that, it’s just wasted time,” he said. “Then, you’re just an emotional wreck because it’s just a roller coaster. It switches from day to day.”
The Warriors will indeed try to change the narrative when they take on the Celtics for Game 2 at home tonight, 9 p.m. ET.