The discourse of Boston Celtics fans in TD Gardens has no limitations, but this time an excited Draymond Green will be ready for it. “I’ll greet them with a nice smile. Just as I did after we won the championship”, the Golden State Warriors’ forward told ESPN.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green is set to greet a hostile crowd at TD Garden for the first time since leaving as a four-time NBA champion last year.
Speaking to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews ahead of the much anticipated matchup on Thursday, Green re-lived his experience in Boston during the Finals which included deplorable racist remarks and blatantly disrespectful language.
"“You usually have situations where people talk crazy, but not the entire arena. You’ll have a situation where an entire arena will boo you, but not what the Boston fans were doing. So, it was just a different situation than I had ever seen. It took a while to adjust to it. It was just so unexpected. It caught me off, guard.”"
Meanwhile, the Bean Town crowd will likely be more aggressive in playing their role in Thursday’s contest with the visiting Warriors. The Celtics may be short handed without their secondary star Jaylen Brown who is listed as questionable with an adductor injury.
Golden State haven’t had much luck with short handed teams in recent times — you only have to look at the last of their eight-game homestand with an inexplicable loss to the Phoenix Suns. In fact, their three-game home losing streak is proof of overlooking injury-diminished or inferior rosters.
The Warriors will remain short handed themselves with James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and JaMychal Green still out, although the latter two are nearing a return in the coming days. Veteran Andre Iguodala is also out, but Klay Thompson will return having missed Monday’s win against the Washington Wizards.
Golden State are just the second team in NBA history to clinch a title on the parquet floor of the TD Garden, with the final celebration coming at Joe Biden’s White House on Tuesday. The Dubs must now refocus their winning efforts to ensure they return home to Chase Center with a successful East Coast adventure.