The Golden State Warriors were quite open about their desire and expectation to close out the Cleveland Cavaliers on their home floor, and it may well have backfired on them.
Several Cleveland players spoke about how they were motivated in Game 4 of the NBA Finals by the words of some Warriors players, particularly Draymond Green, about celebrating in Cleveland.
“You add, of course, some chatter in there, and that adds some extra motivation,” said Kyrie Irving, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And you give us a day in between, and we were ready to come out. Especially me, because that taste wouldn’t have been the same if we would have lost tonight and they would have celebrated on our home floor. So I’ll just leave that at that.”
LeBron James concurred.
LeBron says he was told Draymond had said the Warriors "wanted to celebrate on our floor once again, spray champagne in our locker rooms."
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 10, 2017
Center Tristan Thompson had the most blunt assessment of all.
“It’s the Finals,” Thompson said. “Guys are going to talk. We’re going to respond, but they aren’t going to punk us. Not me. They’re not about to punk Tristan Thompson. You got the game f—ed up with that one. You can talk all you want, but I’m definitely going to bark back. That’s just how I’m built.”
Green may be a changed man in some respects, but his outspokenness is not one of them. It may have gotten him in a bit of trouble again here.
