NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 2, 2022

Draymond Green

Golden State Warriors

Game 1: Postgame

Boston Celtics 120, Golden State Warriors 108

Q. When you guys ended the Western Conference Finals early, you gave yourselves a lot of time to rest. From Boston's perspective, when they end their series in 7, they come in in rhythm. When you look at this game, from your perspective, did it just come down to the threes that they hit in the fourth quarter, or do you think that rhythm was a factor?

DRAYMOND GREEN: No, I think they stayed within striking distance, and they made shots late. So we'll be fine. We'll figure out the ways we can stop them from getting those threes and take them away.

But no, I don't think it was a rhythm thing. We pretty much dominated the game for the first 41, 42 minutes. So we'll be fine.

Q. Several of Al Horford's threes were wide open. What do you guys need to do better there?

DRAYMOND GREEN: I don't know. We'll see. We'll figure it out. Watch some film. But you know, they have guys that put pressure on the rim, so you're going to have to rotate him. We'll have to figure out where our next rotation is coming from and do it.

They hit 21 threes, and Marcus Smart and Al Horford and Derrick White combined for 15 of them. The guys are good shooters, but they combined for, what, 15 out of 8; Smart, 7, 8, 15-for-23. My math right? 8, 7 and 8. Yeah, that's 23, right. Yeah, 15-for-23 from those guys, eh, you know, so, we'll be fine.

Q. You've mentioned a couple times that you've played pretty good, and you've not been down in a series in those playoffs. Is it a little hit to the confidence? This is a little different here.

DRAYMOND GREEN: No, it's fine. You get a chance to do something else, do it in a different way, embrace the challenge. We've always embraced challenges. It's no different. We'll embrace this one. So no, it's not a hit to the confidence at all not one bit.

Q. That confidence, is that what leads to you being very relaxed and it's a long series and you're not too worried? Your shooting, is it something that you figure it's like a fluke game and won't happen again going forward?

DRAYMOND GREEN: I mean, whether you win every game at home, you still want to win one on the road. And our history, we've always won one on the road. So, you know, it's just nothing to panic about. It's the first team to win four games, not the first to win one.

So I think that's where the confidence comes from, just understand that.

And as far as the shooting, are you talking about me personally or as a team?

Q. Personally.

DRAYMOND GREEN: Yeah, I missed some bunnies. My threes felt good. You know, I'll continue to stay aggressive. They will fall. You know, tonight, they didn't.

Q. What kind of lift did having Otto and Andre back on the court provide?

DRAYMOND GREEN: It was huge. They both gave us great minutes. Now it's on me to play better. But to have those guys back; Otto played really well. He shot the ball really well. Andre played well, also, in the minutes that he had. So they did their part. I just have to do mine.

Q. In the fourth quarter, they looked to have more energy. How much of that was just making shots, and how much of that was the early turnovers that they got from you guys?

DRAYMOND GREEN: Yeah, I think when you're making shots, that's a boost; and when you're missing shots, it's a Debbie Downer. And that's kind of what it was. They made them; we missed them.

You know, sometimes you can allow missed shots to drag your defense down. I think a little bit of that happened in the fourth quarter as well.

Yeah, you've got to give them credit. They made the shots when they needed to make them.

Q. Does a game like this speak to the margin of error you guys don't have compared to the last two series that you were in?

DRAYMOND GREEN: I don't think in any NBA Finals you're going to have a margin of error. That's what this team has to understand. When you get to this -- when you get to this point in the season, this level, there is no margin for error. It's two great teams, and the team that makes the less mistakes is going to win the game, and they did that.

Yeah, I mean, they had 21 points off our 14 turnovers. We had 10 off their 13. So yeah, there is no margin of error for either team.

Q. Was it focus?

DRAYMOND GREEN: Nah, I don't see a lack of focus, you don't get up 15 points with a lack of focus. They are a great team and they made a great run. We didn't stop the bleeding soon enough. They made shots.

Q. A lot was made out of the Celtics' defense coming into the series. As a defensive specialist expert, what was your take on how they played on that side of the ball, and what kind of problems did they present for the Warriors?

DRAYMOND GREEN: They got a good defense; we knew that coming in. There was no surprises. We know what they want to get to on the defensive side and how they like to play. They know what we are trying to get to.

Yeah, no surprises. They are who we thought they were, and you know, now we'll watch the clips, watch the film and figure out what we need to do to attack it.