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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 1, 2016

Draymond Green

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. Well, here we go again, huh?
DRAYMOND GREEN: It's an amazing feeling to be back in this position. It hasn't been easy, that's for sure, but this is what you work for every single year. This is our goal to repeat. This is the step that we had to take, so we're excited to be here.

Q. How about all this pomp and circumstance around here? You're going through this second time around.
DRAYMOND GREEN: You know, everybody's a little more relaxed this time because you know what to expect now. So it's exciting to have that experience of last year. This isn't our first go-around. All of this was new last year. Now you're used to it, you've been through it. So everything's a bit more regular now.

Q. You're getting a far healthier Cavalier team this year than you saw a year ago. What challenges does that present to you?
DRAYMOND GREEN: Obviously them having all their guys is always going to be a challenge. With them having all their guys, they're obviously a better team. But we always felt if we play our brand of basketball and go out and do the things that we know that it takes to win, we don't really care who anyone else puts on the floor like that. It has nothing to do with us. They're going to put whoever they want out there. We've just got to control what we can control, ask that's what we do on the floor.

Q. Draymond, you guys spent so much time and energy last year defending yourselves against the idea that you got lucky by not facing teams --
DRAYMOND GREEN: You all spent time on it more than we do.

Q. You were asked a lot of questions, so you at least had to spend time answering those questions. How happy are you to be facing the Cavs at full strength to answer some of those critics?
DRAYMOND GREEN: Yeah, I didn't spend much time answering those questions.

Q. In that sense, the motivation that you guys had coming into this year, I know it was so long ago, how motivated are you guys to solidify the fact that you are champions?
DRAYMOND GREEN: We want a repeat. That's been our goal. There's been seven teams in the history of the NBA to do it, and we've talked about being one of those teams to do that. So that's been our sole focus this year.

Q. What do you think it's going to take to repeat this year?
DRAYMOND GREEN: A tremendous championship effort. You know, like I said, we're playing a very good ballclub, but obviously every game we go into, turnovers are important. Getting the pace of the game where we want it is important, and defending. This is a very good offensive team as well. They've been really -- they've got I think seven guys shooting over 44% from the three-point line. So to get it done on the defensive end, using our defense to create offense for us will be important.

Q. What about LeBron now having more options to pass the ball to?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I mean, it makes them a lot more dangerous because he's always been an incredible passer. He looks to get his teammates involved. But we have to stick to our game plan, and if we stick to our game plan, that eliminates some of those threes.

Q. How much does the Oklahoma City series affect you and toughen you guys up? Does it wear you out? How does that shake it?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I think at this point every year, nobody's worried about being worn out. You kind of found a whole new source of energy when you get to The Finals. So I think that experience of going through that definitely makes us closer and a lot tougher. That wasn't an easy series by any means. Then coming down and coming back from down 3-1, it gives you a certain amount of confidence.

Q. How would you like the quick turnaround? Do you still feel the momentum from the other night?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I like the quick turnaround. Obviously sometimes it's good to get rest, but at this point in the year, you want to definitely try to stay in rhythm. So being that we played two nights ago, we try to carry that momentum into tomorrow.

Q. You obviously managed to play with your normal emotion after the incident in Oklahoma City. You still sort of stop short of the line. How conscious are you of [technical foul and flagrant foul counts and a possible suspension]?
DRAYMOND GREEN: Doesn't matter. I'm going to play basketball and do what I do on the floor. What's going to happen is going to happen anyway. Just play my game.

Q. How much is your journey here up until this point, being battle tested, the adversity you've faced, how much is that helping you going into The Finals?
DRAYMOND GREEN: It helps a lot. When you face adversity, it builds character. In order to win an NBA Championship, you have to have character because at some point or another throughout the series you have to lean on that character to pull you through.

So the adversity that we face will definitely help us. But we have to make sure we put ourselves in a position for it to help us. Because if you just don't compete, it won't matter. If you come out and compete from the jump -- which last year I don't think we did. We didn't compete from the start of the series. They had guys diving on loose balls and stuff and we weren't doing that. So we have to make sure we come out this year ready to go from the gate. And I have no doubt in my mind we will.

Q. What is it like guarding LeBron James and his unique skillset?
DRAYMOND GREEN: It's tough. That's why he's been the player he's been in this league for so long. He definitely presents a different challenge than pretty much anybody in the NBA.

But I think the one positive about our team is we've got a lot of different guys that we can throw at him. Over the course of a seven-game series, you just hope maybe he'll wear down or something.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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