WEBVTT - Episode 6 - Block By James 0:00:03.789 --> 0:00:12.108 Dubbed Dynasty as a production of iHeartMedia and the NBA. 0:00:13.029 --> 0:00:20.989 Drayvon Green drives ahead finishers nicely three long break, Etchcott, 0:00:21.509 --> 0:00:29.549 cracking on great from forty down, chow ravon Green, Oh 0:00:29.909 --> 0:00:32.869 brain down for another, He's got thirty seven. 0:00:34.909 --> 0:00:37.949 Those were some of Draymond Green's better moments from Game 0:00:38.069 --> 0:00:41.749 three in a twenty sixteen second round series against the 0:00:41.829 --> 0:00:45.829 Portland Trailblazers. Pick any catch all advanced stat and it 0:00:45.869 --> 0:00:49.269 would likely list this game as the second best playoff 0:00:49.309 --> 0:00:55.629 game of Green's career, Thus far minor issue though Golden 0:00:55.669 --> 0:00:59.749 State lost that game. I'm Israel Gutierrez and this is 0:00:59.829 --> 0:01:13.988 dubbed Dynasty. Draymond finished that Game three with a playoff 0:01:14.029 --> 0:01:19.068 career high thirty seven points, including eight three pointers, nine rebounds, 0:01:19.309 --> 0:01:24.068 eight assists, a steal, and a block. It was a 0:01:24.109 --> 0:01:26.669 game without Steph Kirk, who was recovering from his sprain 0:01:26.788 --> 0:01:30.548 knee suffered one series earlier. Despite it being the only 0:01:30.589 --> 0:01:34.029 loss in the series, Green put on display why he's 0:01:34.109 --> 0:01:38.749 more than just the relentless defensive minded soul of the team. 0:01:39.029 --> 0:01:43.588 His best career playoff game also came this twenty sixteen postseason. 0:01:44.509 --> 0:01:49.229 It would also come to loss, a much more meaningful loss, 0:01:49.788 --> 0:01:53.148 not just for the twenty sixteen playoffs, but for the 0:01:53.189 --> 0:01:57.389 course of NBA history. It would be Draymond's summoning all 0:01:57.428 --> 0:02:01.229 of his powers to help his team overcome what had 0:02:01.309 --> 0:02:04.588 been the most costly mistake of his NBA career. 0:02:08.429 --> 0:02:10.869 Well, the thing with Draymond is that he's the ultimate 0:02:11.149 --> 0:02:18.189 competitor and winner, and he's loyal. And I will go 0:02:18.508 --> 0:02:20.989 to war with that guy forever. I mean, I just 0:02:21.189 --> 0:02:25.229 I will I do. That's how much I believe in him. 0:02:26.388 --> 0:02:30.229 But with that passion, with that edge that he carries, 0:02:30.269 --> 0:02:35.868 that chip on his shoulder, comes a fury inside of him. 0:02:35.909 --> 0:02:38.829 Steve Kerr would know best about how Green channels that 0:02:38.869 --> 0:02:43.149 anger into outstanding performances. Draymond was about to do that 0:02:43.269 --> 0:02:47.869 once again on the NBA Final stage. Last we left you, 0:02:48.388 --> 0:02:51.029 The Warriors and Cavaliers were about to engage in their 0:02:51.108 --> 0:02:54.989 second straight NBA Finals, a much anticipated series where the 0:02:55.029 --> 0:02:58.069 Warriors look to close out the best season in league history, 0:02:58.349 --> 0:03:01.549 while the Cavaliers were looking to avenge the twenty fifteen 0:03:01.629 --> 0:03:05.268 Finals loss and bring the first pro sports championship to 0:03:05.309 --> 0:03:07.429 Cleveland in fifty two years. 0:03:10.189 --> 0:03:14.108 Seventy three wins taking their place in the endows of 0:03:14.149 --> 0:03:15.388 the NBA well, the. 0:03:15.349 --> 0:03:21.229 Greatest regular season r time. If there was going to 0:03:21.269 --> 0:03:24.469 be a foil to this Golden State Dream season, it 0:03:24.469 --> 0:03:27.069 would have to be the two time champion and four 0:03:27.108 --> 0:03:28.909 time MVP Lebron James. 0:03:30.069 --> 0:03:32.709 Deep down, it was only right there we got an 0:03:32.709 --> 0:03:35.229 opportunity to play coach State after wave the last year. 0:03:36.629 --> 0:03:39.749 Me personally, I wanted to see go State again. 0:03:43.629 --> 0:03:46.989 As Rachel Nichols explains, the Warriors had to go through 0:03:47.029 --> 0:03:50.029 the final boss if they were going to stake their 0:03:50.029 --> 0:03:51.429 claim to NBA history. 0:03:51.829 --> 0:03:54.269 I think, especially as they were going along the twenty 0:03:54.309 --> 0:03:57.629 sixteen season, it became clear that they were on a 0:03:57.709 --> 0:04:00.269 pace to, if not set, at least come close to 0:04:00.309 --> 0:04:03.309 and ultimately they did set that win record. I think 0:04:03.309 --> 0:04:05.229 there was a feeling, Man, this team is rolling. This 0:04:05.269 --> 0:04:08.269 is incredible. Step feels unstoppable. They don't even need to 0:04:08.309 --> 0:04:11.709 coach X y Z. But until you play Lebron James 0:04:11.749 --> 0:04:14.749 in the NBA Finals with his full team, I don't 0:04:14.749 --> 0:04:18.389 think anyone thinks they're rolling at that point. Lebron was 0:04:18.389 --> 0:04:21.389 the only conversation happening in the NBA when you got 0:04:21.389 --> 0:04:23.709 to who's the best player overall. Sure, we might have 0:04:23.748 --> 0:04:26.949 other MVPs, but you know the old Bill Simmons, the 0:04:26.988 --> 0:04:28.629 Aliens came to Arke and said, you had to play 0:04:28.629 --> 0:04:31.669 a basketball game to save the planet. Who's your first pick? 0:04:31.789 --> 0:04:33.949 At that point, it was still Lebron James. For people, 0:04:34.029 --> 0:04:35.749 it was still this is the best player. We all 0:04:35.789 --> 0:04:37.469 know he's the best player. So the fact that the 0:04:37.509 --> 0:04:40.109 best player by consensus that people had at the time, 0:04:40.149 --> 0:04:43.388 the most dominant, the most physically gifted player in the 0:04:43.469 --> 0:04:46.388 league in a stretch where a guy already at that 0:04:46.469 --> 0:04:48.469 point we were saying, is Lebron going to be better 0:04:48.469 --> 0:04:49.828 than Michael Jordan? Is he going to go down in 0:04:49.909 --> 0:04:51.269 history as the number one player. 0:04:50.988 --> 0:04:51.509 Of all time? 0:04:51.629 --> 0:04:53.949 The fact that that guy was not on the Warriors 0:04:53.949 --> 0:04:56.749 team made the fact that even though the Warriors were 0:04:56.748 --> 0:04:59.308 winning at a historic pace, it did not feel, at 0:04:59.349 --> 0:05:01.748 least to me inevitable that they were just going to 0:05:01.748 --> 0:05:04.429 go win another title. I want to see it, man, 0:05:04.469 --> 0:05:06.428 I wanted to see the Royal Rumble. And I was 0:05:06.428 --> 0:05:08.109 so excited when we got eight in the finals in 0:05:08.149 --> 0:05:10.789 twenty sixteen because that's what it felt like. It felt like, Okay, 0:05:10.949 --> 0:05:14.868 lebronze teams at full strength, this Warriors team is record setting, historic. 0:05:15.189 --> 0:05:18.068 Stepcourry is playing like we've never seen before. He's shooting 0:05:18.109 --> 0:05:20.829 threes from the locker room, and here we go. 0:05:23.229 --> 0:05:26.269 Here we go, with a lot of help from Kevin Love, 0:05:26.988 --> 0:05:29.989 the Cavaliers forward had missed the previous finals with a 0:05:30.029 --> 0:05:33.109 shoulder injury, but he was familiar with the Warriors just 0:05:33.149 --> 0:05:37.308 from watching in twenty fifteen. This time, he'd play his part. 0:05:37.709 --> 0:05:40.189 We were well versed in what they were trying to 0:05:40.189 --> 0:05:42.909 do on both sides of the ball. And at the 0:05:42.949 --> 0:05:45.229 same time, I know they had Steph who was the 0:05:45.349 --> 0:05:47.869 unanimous MVP that year, but we felt like we had 0:05:47.868 --> 0:05:49.629 the best player in the game that could lead us 0:05:49.669 --> 0:05:52.469 to the Promised Land, and so we felt very comfortable 0:05:52.469 --> 0:05:55.909 and confident coming out. But again in those first four games, 0:05:55.988 --> 0:05:58.028 it didn't go in our direction for a number of reasons, 0:05:58.069 --> 0:06:00.628 and it was because they were historically great. 0:06:01.589 --> 0:06:05.269 The Warriors have six players double figures, and Carrie and 0:06:05.349 --> 0:06:08.269 Thompson are not those Squivingston. 0:06:08.349 --> 0:06:14.949 Again, it was Sean Livingston who led the Warriors in 0:06:15.029 --> 0:06:17.829 scoring in that game one with twenty, but six other 0:06:17.868 --> 0:06:21.789 Warriors also scored in double figures. That included Draymond Green 0:06:22.109 --> 0:06:26.428 with sixteen. Points, eleven rebounds, seven assists, four steals and 0:06:26.469 --> 0:06:27.229 a block shot. 0:06:28.469 --> 0:06:32.188 I speeded side with Draymond Green all the. 0:06:32.229 --> 0:06:33.268 Pants for like a dollar. 0:06:33.868 --> 0:06:36.949 The Warriors outscored the Caps by seventeen points. When Green 0:06:37.069 --> 0:06:39.988 was on the floor, No other starter had a plus 0:06:39.988 --> 0:06:43.748 minus better than seven. The Splash Brothers barely made a 0:06:43.789 --> 0:06:45.869 ripple with twenty points combined. 0:06:46.868 --> 0:06:50.589 Warriors take Game one, Curtesy out there, betch. 0:06:52.308 --> 0:06:56.269 Game two might have been even stranger. Lebron had nineteen 0:06:56.349 --> 0:07:00.349 points and seven turnovers, Kyrie Irving added just ten, and 0:07:00.389 --> 0:07:03.349 the Cavaliers as a whole shot thirty five percent from 0:07:03.349 --> 0:07:03.868 the field. 0:07:04.589 --> 0:07:07.268 Now the Warriors have set a new NBA record. 0:07:07.709 --> 0:07:10.669 They have outscored the Cavaliers life forty eight in the 0:07:10.709 --> 0:07:11.469 first two. 0:07:12.789 --> 0:07:15.269 A lot of that was due to Draymond who also 0:07:15.349 --> 0:07:17.549 led the Warriors in scoring in this game with twenty eight, 0:07:17.709 --> 0:07:21.629 including five more threes. Kevin Love suffered a concussion in 0:07:21.669 --> 0:07:23.828 that game too, keeping him out of the next game, 0:07:24.829 --> 0:07:27.749 but the Cavaliers didn't seem to miss him, with Richard 0:07:27.829 --> 0:07:31.469 Jefferson stepping in and playing thirty three minutes and Cleveland 0:07:31.589 --> 0:07:33.029 running away by thirty. 0:07:33.429 --> 0:07:35.869 Hey, that will do it. 0:07:36.149 --> 0:07:39.429 The Cavaliers playing Game three by thirty points. 0:07:41.269 --> 0:07:44.309 They'd been undefeated at home in the postseason to this point, 0:07:44.429 --> 0:07:48.069 so it was no surprise Cleveland rebound in Game four, 0:07:48.109 --> 0:07:54.029 though finally Curry erupted. After averaging just sixteen through the 0:07:54.069 --> 0:07:57.989 first three games, Steph had thirty eight, twenty four of 0:07:58.029 --> 0:07:59.309 those coming in the second half. 0:08:01.229 --> 0:08:03.829 Shot buck up seventh Curry fakes poked up a great 0:08:04.149 --> 0:08:13.749 sorry Jefford Curry from downtown at the ten point games. 0:08:11.989 --> 0:08:15.349 And with just under three minutes left, the Warriors were 0:08:15.349 --> 0:08:20.708 effectively coasting up ten and with possession, possession of the basketball, 0:08:20.829 --> 0:08:23.629 but also possession of the series, on the way to 0:08:23.749 --> 0:08:27.149 leading three games to one. Teams holding that lead in 0:08:27.189 --> 0:08:29.989 a seven game series go on to win it ninety 0:08:30.069 --> 0:08:33.389 five percent of the time in NBA history, but with 0:08:33.629 --> 0:08:37.069 just under three minutes for me, an exchange between Lebron 0:08:37.149 --> 0:08:41.149 James and Draymond Green would provide the ultimate UNO reverse 0:08:41.229 --> 0:08:42.109 card for the series. 0:08:45.429 --> 0:08:48.189 Green and James joying at each other wall play for 0:08:48.309 --> 0:08:51.989 ten years the Gazala to pull off that at a 0:08:52.029 --> 0:08:53.509 double Bowl, It's gonna be called. 0:08:54.829 --> 0:08:57.469 After setting a screen on James and getting tangled up 0:08:57.469 --> 0:08:59.109 with him at the top of the three point arc, 0:08:59.509 --> 0:09:02.069 Green fell to the floor in an attempt to get 0:09:02.069 --> 0:09:05.989 back into the play, James stepped over Green. You could 0:09:06.069 --> 0:09:08.949 say it was an unnecessary path for Lebron, given how 0:09:08.989 --> 0:09:11.669 easily he could have stepped around Green, and in the 0:09:11.829 --> 0:09:16.509 NBA Finals in particular, the stepover summons an iconic level 0:09:16.549 --> 0:09:20.869 of disrespect, famously or infamously if you're a Lakers fan. 0:09:21.349 --> 0:09:24.349 Alan Iverson stepped over Tyron Lu during the two thousand 0:09:24.349 --> 0:09:28.549 and one finals after hitting a shot father by. 0:09:28.549 --> 0:09:36.789 Lou How about that steps Toronto. 0:09:40.629 --> 0:09:44.189 With Lou now watching as the Cavaliers head coach Draymond 0:09:44.309 --> 0:09:46.829 was not about to let that type of disrespect fly 0:09:47.069 --> 0:09:50.429 without retaliation, so he swiped up with his right hand 0:09:50.429 --> 0:09:52.269 as he was attempting to get back on his feet. 0:09:53.309 --> 0:09:57.109 That swipe made contact with Lebron's groin, and a second 0:09:57.109 --> 0:10:00.909 backhanded swing in James's direction missed and tired. James and 0:10:00.949 --> 0:10:04.509 Green had to be separated afterwards, as Green was letting 0:10:04.509 --> 0:10:06.349 his feelings about James be known. 0:10:08.149 --> 0:10:10.909 Green and James joying at each other, walk place to 0:10:11.029 --> 0:10:12.189 tenures like a dollar. 0:10:12.269 --> 0:10:13.349 The pull off that one. 0:10:13.309 --> 0:10:17.389 Goal and a double fowls gonna be called channing cry. 0:10:17.429 --> 0:10:21.909 Getting in between Lebron James of six. Green starting to 0:10:21.949 --> 0:10:29.829 walk away, and he does four words. Remember Raymond, Green's 0:10:29.909 --> 0:10:33.789 one flagrant foul and two technicals away from being suspended. 0:10:38.789 --> 0:10:42.349 To this point in the postseason, Draymond had already accumulated 0:10:42.429 --> 0:10:45.829 three flagrant fouls. One more and it would mean an 0:10:45.829 --> 0:10:49.829 automatic suspension. One of those three flagrant fouls came in 0:10:49.869 --> 0:10:53.269 the previous series when Green kicked Stephen Adams and the groin. 0:10:54.109 --> 0:10:57.669 Many argued that foul deserved a suspension as well, but 0:10:57.829 --> 0:10:58.509 none King. 0:10:59.869 --> 0:11:03.709 Putting a move on Adams, and here is how come 0:11:03.829 --> 0:11:11.029 down goes out once again. Washed the way, Oh I 0:11:11.109 --> 0:11:13.429 don't follow through on the foot gets you in trouble 0:11:13.469 --> 0:11:13.949 every time. 0:11:14.189 --> 0:11:21.389 That's the second time. But three have let's say, Bronwood 0:11:22.269 --> 0:11:25.269 luck without it. 0:11:25.429 --> 0:11:28.349 You did it in Game two and the officials were 0:11:28.389 --> 0:11:29.349 going to take a look at him. 0:11:30.429 --> 0:11:33.869 The judgment on this foul against Lebron wasn't whether by 0:11:33.949 --> 0:11:37.069 itself it was suspension worthy, but whether or not it 0:11:37.189 --> 0:11:39.949 was a flagrant foul. It was called as much during 0:11:39.989 --> 0:11:43.029 the game and it could have, in theory, been reversed 0:11:43.109 --> 0:11:46.629 between Games four and five by the League office. There 0:11:46.749 --> 0:11:51.909 was no reverse and the suspension stood The Warriors were 0:11:51.949 --> 0:11:54.349 still leading three games to one and were in great 0:11:54.429 --> 0:11:58.469 position to win the series, but after Lebron was literally 0:11:58.549 --> 0:12:01.909 poked by Draymond during the game, Clay Thompson gave the 0:12:01.989 --> 0:12:05.189 bear a figurative on the postgame podium. 0:12:06.309 --> 0:12:07.909 I don't know how the man feels or. 0:12:10.469 --> 0:12:15.469 But obviously people have feelings, and people's feelings get hurt 0:12:15.509 --> 0:12:19.349 even if they're called a bad word. I guess his 0:12:19.469 --> 0:12:24.709 feelings just got hurt. I mean, we've all been called 0:12:24.749 --> 0:12:26.789 plenty of bad words in the basketball court before. 0:12:29.149 --> 0:12:31.629 That message was relayed to James once it was his 0:12:31.749 --> 0:12:32.589 turn on the podium. 0:12:34.109 --> 0:12:34.669 What did you say? 0:12:34.709 --> 0:12:37.149 Clay said, Play said, I guess he just got his 0:12:37.229 --> 0:12:37.869 feelings hurt. 0:12:42.669 --> 0:12:43.949 Oh my goodness. 0:12:44.549 --> 0:12:45.869 The transcript will support that. 0:12:51.429 --> 0:12:54.229 I'm not gonna comment on what Clay said because I 0:12:54.309 --> 0:12:58.949 know where it can go from this sit in. It's 0:12:58.949 --> 0:13:01.189 so hard to take the high road. I've been doing 0:13:01.189 --> 0:13:03.269 it for thirteen years. It's so hard to continue to 0:13:03.309 --> 0:13:04.389 do it, and I'm gonna do it again. 0:13:07.869 --> 0:13:10.589 Quite the drama for a series that appeared over and 0:13:10.669 --> 0:13:13.909 done with. Even if the Warriors were to drop Game 0:13:13.989 --> 0:13:17.589 five without Draymond, there still wouldn't be many people believing 0:13:17.629 --> 0:13:20.309 the Calves can come all the way back, not with 0:13:20.429 --> 0:13:23.629 the potential Game seven in Oracle Arena. The had chances 0:13:23.669 --> 0:13:26.709 of winning this series is zero as far as I'm concerned. 0:13:26.989 --> 0:13:29.069 Everybody is saying that we can't get this done and 0:13:29.149 --> 0:13:29.549 it's over. 0:13:30.229 --> 0:13:33.429 Rachel Nichols was at these finals and she did send 0:13:33.549 --> 0:13:36.629 some belief from the Calves and some doubt from the Warriors. 0:13:37.029 --> 0:13:40.549 So much in the twelve hours after that game ended 0:13:40.789 --> 0:13:44.029 seemed to be hinging on what is the League office 0:13:44.069 --> 0:13:46.509 going to do about Draymond? Would they really suspend him? 0:13:46.949 --> 0:13:47.869 How is this going to go? 0:13:48.549 --> 0:13:51.309 And so much import was put on that, and it 0:13:51.509 --> 0:13:54.629 was such a twenty four hour news environment between sort 0:13:54.629 --> 0:13:56.829 of the way the Internet had sort of changed things 0:13:56.949 --> 0:13:58.949 for us getting news in the news cycle and again 0:13:59.069 --> 0:14:01.429 kind of being the height of NBA Twitter that that 0:14:01.869 --> 0:14:05.709 ball rolling down hill was so heavy that it almost 0:14:05.829 --> 0:14:09.589 became oh, he's not playing, Oh man, now the Cavaliers 0:14:09.629 --> 0:14:11.629 have a shot. And I think there was belief on 0:14:11.749 --> 0:14:14.069 the cab side that they did have a shot, partly 0:14:14.109 --> 0:14:16.669 thanks to that, partly thanks to what Ty and Lebron 0:14:16.709 --> 0:14:18.869 were doing behind the scenes, and I think frankly there 0:14:18.949 --> 0:14:20.869 was a belief on the Warriors side of Oh, we're 0:14:20.869 --> 0:14:21.829 in a little bit of trouble here. 0:14:22.189 --> 0:14:25.149 While Lebron announced to everyone he was taking the high 0:14:25.229 --> 0:14:29.149 road regarding Play's comments, James chose a much more private 0:14:29.229 --> 0:14:31.629 setting to announce to his team the road it would 0:14:31.669 --> 0:14:33.989 take to come back from this three to one deficit. 0:14:35.349 --> 0:14:37.989 On the team bus heading from their team hotel in 0:14:38.069 --> 0:14:41.909 San Francisco to Oracle Arena before Game five, James gave 0:14:41.989 --> 0:14:45.309 a rousing speech that mapped out the path to victory. 0:14:45.709 --> 0:14:47.669 When we were going over the Bay Bridge. 0:14:48.149 --> 0:14:50.189 I just remember being on the back of the bus 0:14:50.269 --> 0:14:53.269 with all our guys and you know, Lebron speaking that 0:14:53.629 --> 0:14:56.069 it's already written. Man, They've opened up the door. They've 0:14:56.109 --> 0:14:59.109 given us more than enough reasons. I see it right now. 0:14:59.189 --> 0:15:01.789 We're going to win Game five. We're not losing at home, 0:15:02.069 --> 0:15:05.109 and like everybody says, too bad Wars Sports. Game seven, 0:15:05.829 --> 0:15:07.869 we felt like anything could happen. 0:15:07.949 --> 0:15:08.509 At that point. 0:15:08.589 --> 0:15:10.829 We just needed to win this game and get it 0:15:10.909 --> 0:15:13.229 back home. We said we're not losing at home, and 0:15:13.309 --> 0:15:15.509 then in game seven, hey, let's roll the dice and 0:15:15.629 --> 0:15:16.389 see what happens. 0:15:17.309 --> 0:15:20.349 It wasn't just motivation that would help the Cavaliers get 0:15:20.389 --> 0:15:23.069 back in this series. The Warriors, after all, would be 0:15:23.189 --> 0:15:27.269 without Draymond Green for Game five, and Draymond wasn't just 0:15:27.509 --> 0:15:30.869 enough play. At this point in his career, Green was 0:15:30.909 --> 0:15:33.469 building a resume to where he could be considered the 0:15:33.589 --> 0:15:38.269 best defensive NBA player ever, and through these first four games, 0:15:38.749 --> 0:15:42.429 he was establishing himself as the likely Finals MVP should 0:15:42.469 --> 0:15:45.709 Golden State close it out. So the Cavaliers had a 0:15:45.789 --> 0:15:48.189 decided edge in Game five without Green on the floor 0:15:48.309 --> 0:15:52.589 to defend James or to protect the paint. Kevin Love 0:15:52.669 --> 0:15:56.229 had the assignment on Green the entire series. He felt 0:15:56.269 --> 0:16:00.069 the flagrant foul and ensuing suspension were warranted, and he 0:16:00.149 --> 0:16:03.189 knew the Cavs would benefit because Green had been giving 0:16:03.229 --> 0:16:04.629 him work all series. 0:16:05.429 --> 0:16:10.269 It's those antics and those you know, whether he's consciously 0:16:10.389 --> 0:16:13.229 or subconsciously doing it, you know, it's obviously just something 0:16:13.309 --> 0:16:15.829 that you know you can't do, So you know, that's 0:16:15.909 --> 0:16:16.949 just it's it's. 0:16:16.869 --> 0:16:17.549 Part of the game. 0:16:18.309 --> 0:16:22.069 There was so much at stake, and whether it was 0:16:22.149 --> 0:16:24.669 the right call or not, it was just the situation 0:16:24.789 --> 0:16:26.549 that we found ourselves in. Like, like I say, I 0:16:26.629 --> 0:16:28.749 was indifferent about it, but I did feel like we 0:16:28.869 --> 0:16:31.149 were going to find our way, and we still had 0:16:31.229 --> 0:16:33.309 that belief system whether he was playing or not. But 0:16:33.629 --> 0:16:35.789 just saying, you know, didn't help us on the other 0:16:35.829 --> 0:16:36.669 side would be alive. 0:16:37.509 --> 0:16:40.109 It's not just the defense that suffers when Green is 0:16:40.149 --> 0:16:40.589 out either. 0:16:41.229 --> 0:16:43.189 You can say all the things you want about Draymond Green, 0:16:43.269 --> 0:16:45.349 but Steph Curry plays better when Draymond Green is in 0:16:45.429 --> 0:16:47.829 the lineup. We have numbers, we have stats, we have 0:16:47.909 --> 0:16:50.589 the emotional weight of watching them together and the eye 0:16:50.669 --> 0:16:52.389 test and all of that, but it's just it is 0:16:52.429 --> 0:16:56.389 an irrefutable fact. Steph plays better when Draymond is next 0:16:56.429 --> 0:16:59.229 to him, and the energy and the bravado of that 0:16:59.349 --> 0:17:01.709 team is different when Draymond Green is on the court. 0:17:01.789 --> 0:17:03.949 And so I think even before they tipped ball in 0:17:04.069 --> 0:17:06.949 Game five, there was a real feeling of oh, things 0:17:06.989 --> 0:17:07.749 are changing here. 0:17:08.469 --> 0:17:10.869 Irving, just twenty four years old, set it over and 0:17:10.909 --> 0:17:15.109 over again. When he's healthy, a sensational offensive talent nearly 0:17:15.269 --> 0:17:17.949 falls drives now spins back to fall away shot. 0:17:18.029 --> 0:17:18.629 It's good. 0:17:20.309 --> 0:17:22.949 Games against rush Leans in trying to draw the foul 0:17:23.069 --> 0:17:25.909 got him up count it handle one forty points for 0:17:26.029 --> 0:17:31.989 Lebron James and the lead Balloons to fifteen as Cleveland 0:17:32.109 --> 0:17:36.069 force is a Game six What a road victory for 0:17:36.109 --> 0:17:39.909 the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the NBA Finals will return to 0:17:39.989 --> 0:17:41.509 Cleveland on Thursday night. 0:17:42.549 --> 0:17:44.389 And I think we saw that in the result and 0:17:44.469 --> 0:17:46.829 through the Cavs just walked through Game six and then 0:17:46.909 --> 0:17:48.109 Game seven of course went. 0:17:48.029 --> 0:17:48.909 Back to game dog fight. 0:17:50.589 --> 0:17:54.589 The Cavaliers didn't walk through Game six in Cleveland, they strutted. 0:17:55.269 --> 0:17:58.669 In fact, Game six might have featured the most confident 0:17:58.869 --> 0:18:05.229 James has ever looked in any singular moment. With less 0:18:05.229 --> 0:18:08.029 than five minutes remaining and the Cavaliers looking to blow 0:18:08.069 --> 0:18:11.549 the game wide open, James blocked a driving Steph Curry 0:18:11.589 --> 0:18:14.269 at the rim, sending the ball out of bounds on 0:18:14.349 --> 0:18:18.589 the baseline. After the block, Lebron started to walk away, 0:18:19.069 --> 0:18:21.869 but then looked back at Curry with a few choice words. 0:18:22.789 --> 0:18:26.469 It's pebble of hair and playbook hyry. 0:18:26.629 --> 0:18:32.669 Block by James, making a statement of both sides of 0:18:32.749 --> 0:18:36.109 the floor says to the two time MVP, get it 0:18:36.189 --> 0:18:38.189 out of here, not a bar washing. 0:18:39.749 --> 0:18:44.469 That meant game set on the Warriors home floor. Normally 0:18:44.989 --> 0:18:48.909 that would be an automatic Golden State win, although sportsbooks 0:18:48.949 --> 0:18:51.429 at the time had the Warriors as just a four 0:18:51.469 --> 0:18:55.349 and a half point favorite, and where's the buzzer? 0:18:55.869 --> 0:18:58.869 Game seven Sunday night, It'll look you feel like we. 0:18:58.869 --> 0:19:00.269 Could have closed it out a long time ago. 0:19:00.469 --> 0:19:01.109 But here we are. 0:19:02.069 --> 0:19:04.389 He's tied up three to three and we're going back home. 0:19:04.509 --> 0:19:07.229 So if you told us to UNI season one game 0:19:07.309 --> 0:19:10.309 to win a championship in Oakland, I won't take that 0:19:10.389 --> 0:19:11.109 any day of the week. 0:19:12.429 --> 0:19:14.669 But a quick glance at the Warriors going into that 0:19:14.789 --> 0:19:17.989 Game seven should have given an indication and upset was 0:19:18.029 --> 0:19:32.829 on the way. Andrew Boget wasn't happy about his team 0:19:32.949 --> 0:19:35.908 extending itself in the regular season to reach those seventy 0:19:35.949 --> 0:19:38.629 three wins, and now he was part of the group 0:19:38.869 --> 0:19:41.669 either not playing at all or not playing like their 0:19:41.749 --> 0:19:46.229 usual selves. There was Steph still not moving laterally as 0:19:46.269 --> 0:19:49.388 well as normal with the spring knee, and Andrea Aguadala 0:19:49.549 --> 0:19:51.909 was suffering from back issues that wouldn't let him play 0:19:52.109 --> 0:19:54.549 close to the level he did the previous year in 0:19:54.629 --> 0:19:57.189 winning finals MVP. Here's both. 0:20:00.189 --> 0:20:03.349 Game five. I go down. I think in the first 0:20:03.549 --> 0:20:06.309 half block jaw Smith shot. He does a cannon ball 0:20:06.389 --> 0:20:09.309 right into my knee. I'm like out, I'm out eight weeks. 0:20:09.589 --> 0:20:12.709 Can't move my knee like just blows up swollen. It 0:20:12.829 --> 0:20:16.349 was a massive bone bruise and a tour actually tore 0:20:16.469 --> 0:20:18.309 my fear behead, which I didn't know at the time, 0:20:18.349 --> 0:20:21.269 but tore my. If you have a ligament off that 0:20:21.469 --> 0:20:24.309 so couldn't even attempt to rehab back. So then you 0:20:24.429 --> 0:20:28.029 lose that interior piece, you lose. And I felt like, 0:20:28.149 --> 0:20:31.229 coming from that previous finals roles bench, I thought I 0:20:31.309 --> 0:20:33.669 was having a really good impact on that final series, 0:20:33.709 --> 0:20:36.669 blocking shots, rebounding, doing what I do. Drayone as well. 0:20:37.789 --> 0:20:40.389 So now you go to Game five, we lose that one. 0:20:40.589 --> 0:20:43.149 I mean, there's Champagne getting ready in the back. We 0:20:43.269 --> 0:20:46.069 lose that one. Now you're like, okay, now momentum starting. 0:20:46.149 --> 0:20:47.829 You can feel it starting to shift. We have to 0:20:47.869 --> 0:20:49.949 go to Cleveland. We didn't expect to go to Cleveland. 0:20:50.069 --> 0:20:52.668 We thought it'd be over. Draymone comes back in the lineup. 0:20:52.829 --> 0:20:54.829 Now the rotation is a bit different. I'm out, we're 0:20:54.869 --> 0:20:57.188 going to start differently. We go to the small ball lineup. 0:20:57.269 --> 0:21:00.189 That's not as efficient because Andre literally can't move, So 0:21:00.309 --> 0:21:03.069 now other guys I need to play more minutes, and 0:21:03.749 --> 0:21:06.349 it kind of you know, things change along that way. 0:21:06.829 --> 0:21:08.909 And give credits to Cleveland. That's why there were seven 0:21:08.989 --> 0:21:11.549 game series. You know, they just completely took momentum back. 0:21:11.629 --> 0:21:14.829 We couldn't salvage, you know, just trading water, trading wader, 0:21:14.869 --> 0:21:18.069 and by game seven Olephants was spottering. It became for 0:21:18.149 --> 0:21:20.229 your isolation based especially in that second half. 0:21:20.629 --> 0:21:25.109 The Warriors and Cavaliers were two great teams, but neither 0:21:25.349 --> 0:21:28.029 was immune to the stress of a game seven. In 0:21:28.149 --> 0:21:31.469 the previous series against the Thunder, game seven was easily 0:21:31.549 --> 0:21:34.349 the lowest scoring game of the series, and the finals 0:21:34.429 --> 0:21:37.669 Game seven, with the ring on the line, would match 0:21:37.749 --> 0:21:41.069 that energy. In the eyes of many an Oracle Arena 0:21:41.149 --> 0:21:43.829 that night, the only reason the game was being played 0:21:44.029 --> 0:21:47.469 was because Draymond Green delayed the inevitable by getting suspended 0:21:47.509 --> 0:21:50.789 for Game five. But if anyone could summon the type 0:21:50.789 --> 0:21:53.549 of effort to make up for his mistake, it would 0:21:53.549 --> 0:21:57.589 be Draymond. He's an absolute dog in big moments and 0:21:57.709 --> 0:22:00.909 he would certainly be in this huge game. Steve Kerr 0:22:00.949 --> 0:22:03.549 has clashed with Green several times throughout their time to 0:22:03.589 --> 0:22:06.549 get it, but he's well aware that the positives of 0:22:06.629 --> 0:22:08.989 Green far outweight the argumentative. 0:22:08.669 --> 0:22:12.629 Was sometimes that that anger comes out and in some 0:22:12.749 --> 0:22:15.428 ways we're similar in that regard. You know, I always 0:22:17.589 --> 0:22:20.389 think about this quote my wife read to fitting. 0:22:20.429 --> 0:22:22.029 By the way, the dog is barking now we're talking 0:22:22.069 --> 0:22:22.709 about Draymond. 0:22:22.949 --> 0:22:23.509 Yeah, that's right. 0:22:25.429 --> 0:22:28.389 But my wife was reading a quote one day and 0:22:28.469 --> 0:22:30.349 she said, oh my god, this is you. And I said, 0:22:30.389 --> 0:22:30.709