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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORS

June 3, 2018

Draymond Green

Oakland, California: Game Two

Warriors - 122, Cavaliers - 103

Q. Yesterday Coach was in here and a couple of the players were in here talking about the need to maybe make LeBron maybe work either harder or make him a little bit uncomfortable. It looked like tonight that was the case. I mean, he still led a pretty decent game, but it seemed like you made him work a lot harder for his shots and didn't give him as many easy looks.
DRAYMOND GREEN: I mean, he definitely had a more than decent game. He played really well. But you've got to make things as tough as you can on him. He's already a great player, and then you give him the easy things and he's just getting into a rhythm and he's dialing everything up. At that point there is really nothing you can do.

From the start of the game we played with more force. Over the course of the game, I think it helped us a lot.

Q. What do you think the greatest challenge is going to be for you going forward playing the Cavs at home?
DRAYMOND GREEN: To win (laughing). It's going to be a tough task. You know, with a team going back home, you look at this and JR shot 2 for 9. Some of the shots he missed, he's going to make those at home. You know, you can go down the list and kind of say that about everyone.

So I think it will be very important for us to be locked in from the jump on the defensive side of the ball and not giving those guys easy shots. They've got a great crowd and they really feed off of it. So just being locked in on the defensive side of the ball from the jump ball, it will pay dividends for us going into Cleveland.

Q. Steph broke a record tonight, Finals record, nine threes. It seems kind of pedestrian at this point. But does it surprise you at all, some of those shots that he made in the fourth quarter, third quarter? Are you surprised?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I wouldn't necessarily say surprised. He's a big shot taker, big shot maker; tough shot taker, tough shot maker. He did that tonight. The one where he was falling away was -- I wouldn't necessarily say surprised about that, but it was like, oh, man, he's really got it going.

But we've seen this before where he completely takes the game over with his scoring ability, and he did that tonight, and it came at a great time for us because they really had it going to start that second half. They had a really good third quarter.

Q. As his teammate, as the guy who is handing it to him or flipping it to him when he's got it going like that, what's it feel like knowing that when you flip it to him great things might happen?
DRAYMOND GREEN: Well, number one, whether you've got the ball or not, get out the way. And if he gives you the ball, make sure you give it back (laughing). It's hard to be the guy in that situation trying to shoot the ball and he's got it going like that, it's a big letdown. You miss the shot, and it's like, Ohh. And you make the shot, they're not going to scream as loud anyway. So you just kind of give him the ball and get out of the way, and, like you say, great things are going to happen.

Q. Do you notice when he has it going like that, Finals record nine threes, does it sort of take a little bit of the air out when the other team sees that happening?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I can't say I knew he had nine threes or it was a Finals record. But you definitely notice the looks on their faces when he hit some of the shots. It was like dagger after dagger. Played great defense, and he pulled up and hit a three in your face.

You definitely notice the effect that it has on the opposing team.

Q. Can you just take me through the past few days watching Klay and seeing how injured he was and for him to play through it tonight and what it really says about what you've seen his whole career?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I thought there was no chance he was playing tonight. I mean, I saw him walking in yesterday and saw his ankle and I was like, yeah, there's no chance he's playing.

Sure enough, I'm like, Man, you good? He's like, Yeah, I'll be fine, I'm playing. I'll be all right. And I was like, no, he ain't playing. You can say that, but there's no chance. I even texted Nick Young yesterday like, Hey, man, I need big minutes out of you tomorrow because Klay ain't playing. And he was like, What? All right, I got you.

Sure enough, I texted him earlier today, and I'm like, Hey, man, you good? He's like, Yeah, I'm good. How your ankle feeling? A lot better. Of course Klay's lying. That's just who Klay is.

But he came out there and gutted through it. Even if you saw him take the first lay-up he took in warm-ups and ran back to the locker room. It's like he ain't going to have it. Sure enough he did. I mean, that's just a microcosm of who he is, one of the toughest guys if not the toughest guy I've ever played with. He'll never get credit for it because he's not going to physically beat you up. But one of the toughest, if not thee toughest guy for sure.

Q. McGee and Shaun played pretty good tonight. And they got 22 points, 11 for 11?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I mean, like you said, they both gave us great minutes. Shaun has been like that all playoffs long, and JaVale. You know, in his minutes he's been big for us. You go back to the New Orleans series, he was key for us. Then fast forward to this one, and both games he's played great minutes. I think it's kind of ironic. I got a stat earlier that they're 17 for 18 from the field in the series or something like that. The one miss is JaVale's dunk. It's pretty ironic. But they've been giving us great minutes and we're definitely going to need that going out on the road.

Q. I like the outfit here with the suit shorts.
DRAYMOND GREEN: Appreciate that, brother.

Q. Where did you happen to get the idea?
DRAYMOND GREEN: My guy Vic (Michel) had the idea. I just put it on. Delivered it to the house.

Q. Got an extra one?
DRAYMOND GREEN: You can have this one.

Q. Nice. Right now?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I mean, the color, this is going to be hard. I can't wear it to The Finals again. So I ain't got no other clothes, though, right now.

Q. I'll give you this and you --
DRAYMOND GREEN: You'll have me walking out here looking like -- I don't know, something bad. But you can have this one for sure.

Q. Okay, I'll meet you outside.
DRAYMOND GREEN: Locker room, I've got some shorts in there (laughing) .

Q. Draymond, you had said at the beginning of the playoffs that you guys hadn't quite reached your ceiling yet, and with the way you guys played tonight, do you feel like you've reached your ceiling? Secondly, a lot has been talked about about Steph's nine threes tonight. What about David West's three?
DRAYMOND GREEN: I don't think we're close to our ceiling, which is good for us. I think we can play so much better. We're going to need that going out on the road. Just to continue to play better and better. You want to peak at the right time, and to be trending upwards is always great. So tonight was good for us.

David West's three was probably the biggest three of the game. They were kind of making a run, and they wouldn't go away and then he hit that three from the corner right in front of their bench, it was a gut punch. He said, Man, Mike Brown has been telling me to shoot it. So shout out to Mike Brown.

Q. Do you know who made the suit, and was it an attempt with the shorts to psych out your competition in short suits?
DRAYMOND GREEN: Rich Fresh made the suit. He goes by Rich Fresh. He's from L.A., well, he's not from L.A., but he lives and works out of L.A. And he's really good. He made it, and Vic, my stylist, obviously got with him to get it made.

Then it's not really psyching nobody out. It gets a little warm in this room, so these shorts bode well for me. And it's a little linen so it ain't too hot up here right now.

But, yeah, I think it's a cool look. You like it?

Q. Yeah.
DRAYMOND GREEN: Appreciate you. It means a lot for sure.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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