NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS

June 8, 2024

Josh Green

Dallas Mavericks

Practice Day

Q. What is the team's mindset heading into Game 2?

JOSH GREEN: Just staying positive. We've been in this situation before many times, just in this year. So I think for us just being positive and knowing how good we are as a team and just being aggressive.

Q. How do you go about bouncing back from a situation like that after a convincing win in Game 1 by the Celtics?

JOSH GREEN: The same way that happened in OKC and in the Clippers series, making sure that we stay together as a team. Look at adjustments we need to make, and we have done that. Go over film and look at the mistakes we've made and just make a positive from it.

Q. What do you make of the environment? What are your first impressions of the Garden crowd and the Finals?

JOSH GREEN: It was great. Everybody dreams of being in the Finals. That first bit of getting the jitters out. It's amazing, amazing fans. It was a great atmosphere and it's what basketball is about.

Q. You mentioned the team staying positive. Has the bond grown more during the Finals?

JOSH GREEN: Yeah, a hundred percent. Our team is a very close team. Probably the closest team I've ever been on. It's a family. We have young guys. It's a young team. The guys, everyone really likes each other.

I think that's what really helps our team is how connected we are and we are able to make adjustments. We are also able to talk openly about what we need to do to improve our game and how we can help one another.

Q. The basketball will take care of itself. So a fun question. If you could swap playlists with a teammate, who would it be?

JOSH GREEN: Not Luka. I don't know. Anyone but Luka.

Q. How do you think Kyrie handled the boos and back-and-forth with the crowd?

JOSH GREEN: He does an amazing job. In his mind, it's another game. At the end of the day, we have one thing, and that's to win a championship. So I think he's done an amazing job of being a leader and a front-runner for this team. He's been a leader the whole year, and it really rubs off on the team and is contagious.

Q. Is there an element of getting out the first-game jitters? Is that a thing? Game 1 is in the rearview and you've got a game under your belt?

JOSH GREEN: Yeah, a hundred percent. I think being nervous is completely normal, especially for me. So I think just being here and being a part of it, it's fun. To me, being nervous isn't a bad thing. But at the end of the day, now it's time for us to make sure we are doing everything we can to win.

Q. What's the biggest message Coach Kidd gave you after the Game 1 loss?

JOSH GREEN: We need to be more aggressive, and we need to be way more aggressive. Looking back at every single one of these playoff series, we've been the aggressive team. And, yeah, just communication-wise. Just small things can really help out.

Q. What is it about this team, 3-0 in Game 2s in the playoffs this year. Why is that?

JOSH GREEN: I just think how together we are as a team. Like I said, the coaches do an amazing job of reacting to situations. Going back to the drawing board. Realize what we need to do as a team and be able to show the team, and I think the guys are good at making the adjustments we need to.