Draymond keeps emotions in check to make Warriors' Game 4-winning play
Draymond keeps emotions in check to make Warriors' Game 4-winning play originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – With five personal fouls including a Flagrant 1, not to mention yet another technical, Warriors forward Draymond Green had no intentions of slowing down his aggressive nature on defense or doing anything to alter his style on Monday night at Chase Center.
Advertisement
The only real issue for the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year was to avoid picking up a silly foul, which was a serious reality during a game when fouls were given out like candy.
In Green's mind, it was well worth the risk of picking up his sixth and final foul rather than alter his game because of the situation.
'Just not pick up a cheap one, but I'm never going to be one of the guys that just because you got five [fouls] you don't defend,' Green said after the Warriors' 109-106 Game 4 win over the Houston Rockets. 'I feel very confident in my defensive ability to defend without fouling. In that situation, you have to make sure your fundamentals are clean. That's what I try to do.'
Green kept his emotions and fouls in check long enough to make the winning play of the game.
Advertisement
With the Dubs clinging to a 107-106 lead and the final seconds ticking away in the fourth quarter, Rockets center Alperen Şengün got the ball above the arc and tried to drive toward the left side of the key, looking for a go-ahead bucket. Instead, he got below the free-throw line and bumped into Green, who forced the former first-round draft pick into a rushed hook shot that missed the mark with 4 seconds left to play.
Houston had another chance to tie the game a few seconds later when Fred VanVleet missed a 3-point attempt, allowing Golden State to take a very comfortable 3-1 lead in the first-round NBA playoff series.
'He knows we must have Draymond on the floor in order to win,' Jimmy Butler said. 'The amount of poise he has when everything he does, it's always blown out of proportion. To stay so calm, to come out there [and] get stops … a special human being. That's why he's the hustle man of the year. Remember that.'
Advertisement
Green indeed was selected as the 2024-25 NBA Hustle Award winner, though he had been making a serious case – on the court and in the media – to win his second DPOY Award.
When that didn't happen, Green reacted just like he did when he was in foul trouble against the Rockets. No reason to make a big fuss. Just keep it pushing.
'Draymond always walks the line, he always teeters on that line. He's an emotional force, a physical force and he just can't cross the line. He knows that,' Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. 'He's done a great job of playing through the frustrations. This is a tough series for him. The way the game is being played, they've kind of taken the ball out of his hands a little it. He's done a really good job of dealing with the frustration and competing. The last two games his fourth-quarter defense keyed everything.
Advertisement
'He's the best defender I've ever seen in my life. He rises to the occasion. On top of being a great defender, he's an incredible competitor.'
Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Golden State Warriors jersey history - No. 14 - Estes Foster Parham (1950-51)
Golden State Warriors jersey history - No. 14 - Estes Foster Parham (1950-51) The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history. Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the fourth of 13 players who wore the No. 14 jersey for the Warriors. That player would be Golden State wing alum Estes Foster Parham. After ending his college career at Texas Wesleyan University, Parham was picked up with the 35th overall selection of the 1948 BAA draft by the (defunct) St. Louis Bombers. The Fort Worth, Texas native would play the first two seasons of his pro career with the Bombers, and was picked up by the Dubs in the Bombers dispersal draft in 1950 for his final season in the league. During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Parham wore only jersey No. 14 and put up 1.3 rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Rockets reportedly remain optimistic that Steven Adams wants to return
Rockets reportedly remain optimistic that Steven Adams wants to return 'The Rockets are operating under the assumption (Steven) Adams wants to return, and will continue to speak with his representation about a possible extension,' The Athletic's Kelly Iko reports. In early May, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said 'every indication' he has is that veteran center Steven Adams wants to return to Houston. Now 31 years old, Adams just finished out the final season of his previous contract, though the Rockets have Bird rights to help sign him to a new deal. Over a month later, and with the June 30 opening of the NBA's free agency negotiations about three weeks away, the Rockets reportedly remain optimistic that Adams' position hasn't changed. Per Kelly Iko of The Athletic: The Rockets are operating under the assumption Adams wants to return — and will continue to speak with his representation about a possible extension, team sources said. It's difficult to project what Adams' market value might be. On the one hand, his traditional statistics in the regular season were rather pedestrian. In an average of 13.7 minutes over 58 games, Adams averaged 3.9 points (54.5% FG) and 5.6 rebounds for the Rockets. Both minutes and appearances were limited in his first season back after undergoing knee surgery in late 2023. But even with the relatively low minutes totals, Adams' impact-based statistics were consistently excellent. And in the playoffs, with the Rockets having gradually built up Adams' health and stamina over the regular season, Houston turned the big man loose. In seven first-round games against the Golden State Warriors, Adams averaged 5.7 points (60.0% FG), 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 22.1 minutes per game. Should Adams want a job as a full-time starting center in the NBA, the Rockets probably can't offer that, since they have an All-Star in Alperen Sengun ahead of Adams on the depth chart. But it's unclear if such an offer will be available when considering Adams' age, injury history, and minutes totals from the 2024-25 regular season. Furthermore, even if that type of bid is made, Adams might prefer to stay in a situation where his body can be more easily load managed. With more than a decade of NBA wear-and-tear, the presence of Sengun can prevent Adams from being overly extended. Furthermore, the ability of Sengun and Adams to play together in 'double big' lineups means that even if Adams is the backup center in name, he has a path to potentially playing more minutes — especially in higher-leverage games and in the playoffs — than most backup centers. That type of arrangement could be appealing to a veteran entering his age-32 season. So, too, could Houston's status as the team with the fourth-best record (52-30) in the NBA. Even if a team was willing and able to offer Adams both a starting role and a significant salary increase, it might not be appealing for Adams to go to a losing team at this stage of his career. Adams made $12.6 million this season, and the NBA's non-taxpayer mid-level exception (NT-MLE) this offseason is expected to be in the range of a $14.1-million starting salary. Many teams have access to the NT-MLE, so a contract in that general annual vicinity would seem realistic. And from Houston's perspective, it's unlikely they would ask or expect Adams to take a paycut after an elite playoff performance. The primary questions would seem to be: If the offers are financially comparable, does Adams want to stay in Houston? Does any team with significant space beneath the 2025-26 salary cap (there aren't many) potentially bid above the NT-MLE on Adams? If so, would Houston be willing to use its Bird rights to go even higher and match? Is there any medical red flag on Adams, regarding his surgically repaired knee, that might make Houston less likely to offer the same contract length as another team? There are enough questions that an Adams return can't be viewed as inevitable. But, all indications thus far are positive, and the Bird rights available to Stone and the Rockets will allow Houston to be as financially competitive as it wants. In his article, Iko writes that getting Adams back is arguably the top offseason priority for Stone and the Rockets. However, he cautions that it is not inevitable. 'Because of his two-way production, particularly his elite offensive rebounding, the possibility of Adams being lured away by a playoff team exists,' Iko writes. 'Adams would be a natural fit for teams such as San Antonio, New York, Indiana, and both Los Angeles organizations (Lakers and Clippers).' Those teams are generally not expected to have salary cap room, so there wouldn't seem to be a financial incentive for Adams to leave Houston for one of them. It simply depends on what he wants from a basketball perspective. Teams can officially engage in negotiations with their own free agents when the 2025 NBA Finals conclude, which should be within the next one to two weeks. That could be the window for the Rockets to ideally reach an agreement with Adams that could prevent him from hitting the open market on June 30. Should Adams explore leaving in free agency, signing Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez could become a backup plan for the Rockets, Iko reports. However, the preference seems to be staying the course and avoiding that scenario altogether. More: Report: If Steven Adams leaves in free agency, Rockets eyeing Brook Lopez as backup plan
San Francisco Chronicle
10 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
When Don Nelson collects Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, he'll throw shade at Doncic trade
Don Nelson never coached by the book, maybe because he never read the book, having had no intention of coaching in the first place. So the man honored Sunday at the Pacers-Thunder NBA Finals game in Oklahoma City with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award had to write his own virtual book on coaching. Here is a snippet, which might bring back fond memories for long-time fans of the Golden State Warriors. It takes place in early 2007 at Smitty's, an Oakland dive bar near Lake Merritt. Nelson, coach of the Warriors, arrives with two of his players, Stephen (Stack Jack) Jackson and Baron (Boom Dizzle) Davis. The Warriors hired Nelson that season, an eyebrow-raising move because he was 66 and had been out of coaching a year, seemingly retired. This was his second go-round with the Warriors, having coached them for seven seasons, starting in '88. The Warriors had just traded for Jackson, who came with baggage. The previous season, while on probation for an assault-and-battery charge, Jackson got into a beef at a strip club and fired several shots from his handgun. Davis had a rep for not getting along with coaches, including the previous Warriors coach, Mike Montgomery. At Smitty's, Nellie, Stack Jack and Boom Dizzle played shuffleboard, drank scotch and talked basketball for a couple hours. Finally, Nelson told his two players, 'You guys are going to be my captains. You run this team, and we're going to have fun.' And so it was. The Warriors scrapped and swashbuckled their way into the playoffs and pulled off the 'We Believe' miracle, a No. 8 seed defeating the No. 1 seed Dallas Mavericks. Yes, Nelson had a style. Still does. He said for Sunday's on-court award presentation he would wear a tuxedo jacket, out of respect for the honor; a black t-shirt and blue jeans, because he doesn't take himself too seriously, and a Hawaiian necklace, because he is an adopted son of Maui, his long-time home. And shoes. More on those in a moment. The award is a big deal to Nelson. He hasn't left Maui in six years. He was lured away from paradise by the Chuck Daly honor, the culmination of Nelson's lifetime love affair with basketball that began in a chicken yard in rural Illinois, on his parents' hog farm. 'My uncle Walt put up a basket (a bicycle tire rim) in the chicken yard, and the chickens just (pooped) all over your court, of course,' Nelson says. 'It was a mess. One day I was playing against the guy next door, I dropped my gum, I thought I found it three or four times.' With Nelson's stories, sometimes you have to ponder the punch line for a moment. When Nelson was in seventh grade, pork prices slumped and the family lost the farm. That was fortuitous for young Don, because the one-room schoolhouse with six kids back on the farm wasn't going to lead him to college. The family moved to big-city Rock Island, where Don, big, strong and smart, became a star in high school. At Iowa, he was a third-team All-American as a junior, and in those pre-NIL days, he took a summer job at the International Harvester factory in Rock Island, operating a punch press. 'I looked to my right and to my left, and both guys working those machines had fingers missing,' Nelson said, laughing. 'They got 'em lopped off on the machines. They had these protective sleeves you're supposed to wear, but this was piece-work, and the only way you could make money was to take the sleeves off so you could go faster. I'm looking over, their goddamn fingers are missing and I'm going, 'Holy s—t, it's going to be hard to be a basketball player with fingers missing.' ' Nelson survived the factory, and after Iowa he went on to a 12-year NBA career, earning five rings with the Boston Celtics. He played one season under coach Red Auerbach, before Auerbach moved to the front office. Nelson made it a routine on game days to arrive at the arena several hours early and drop by Auerbach's office. 'I would sit there and talk basketball with him,' Nelson said, 'and I just learned so much from him. That's how I really got deep into the game. Things like how to run a team, how to get your team ready, get after guys at halftime.' That reminded Nelson of a story. 'One game we were down by about 15 at halftime. Red got on my old friend, Tom (Satch) Sanders. He said, 'Goddammit, Satch, you're not playing worth a s—t. If you don't get going, we're going to lose this game.' Satch says, 'Coach, I haven't been in the game yet.' ' After retiring, Nelson needed a job, so he decided to become an NBA ref. He worked the Summer League in Los Angeles and was told he'd need a year of seasoning in the Eastern League. Then he got a call from Milwaukee Bucks' GM Wayne Embry, offering him the assistant coaching job under Larry Costello. Back then (1976-77), NBA coaches had one assistant coach. 'I had a family of five and no job, so at least I was working,' Nelson said. Eighteen games into the season, the Bucks were 3-15 and the frustrated Costello quit. 'I begged him not to, because I thought I'd get fired,' Nelson said. Team owner Jim Fitzgerald offered the head job to Nelson, who turned it down twice before giving in. 'He said, 'Look, give it a try, we don't have anybody, we've got a game tomorrow.' So I said, 'OK, I'll try it and see what happens.' So I went from being a $25,000 assistant coach to being a $50,000 head coach.' At Milwaukee, out of pure expediency, Nelson developed his style of position-less basketball, which he would later bring to the Warriors, creating Run TMC. With the Bucks, Nelson was coach and general manager, and for that first season, the team's only scout. 'Being the GM, that gave me a tremendous advantage, I could pick players I thought we could work with and be good with. So I always picked the best player (regardless of size) and kind of made it work.' He made it work for 1,335 wins, second on the NBA's all-time list to Greg Popovich. Nelson coached the Warriors three seasons after We Believe. Then Joe Lacob bought the team and fired him. The Chronicle reported that Lacob wanted "a young, up-and-coming coach." 'I was a little surprised with the way things happened, but I think it is for the best for everybody,' Nelson said back then. Next — and last — stop for Nellie: Maui. He and wife Miss Joy fell in love with Hawaii during his playing days and bought a vacation house on Maui in '95, then bought more property. 'There was a good time to buy property on Maui,' Nelson once told me, 'and during that time, I bought a lot of it.' The Nelsons' beautiful waterfront home in Kihei is a base for Miss Joy's competitive Hawaiian canoe paddling, and for Nellie's poker. Years ago, Nelson became famous for his regular poker games with a group of Maui neighbors, including Willie Nelson and Owen Wilson. Times change. Nellie still plays poker with the boys every Wednesday, but Willie retired from poker after he got COVID. Too risky, although he still tours and performs, and has a new album out. Don Nelson still plays golf two or three times a week, and says he is feeling good. 'I quit smoking cigars and pot, and quit drinking alcohol,' said Nelson, noting he also smoked cigarettes for 30 years, a habit he picked up with the Celtics, who would light up at halftime. 'I quit weed about six months ago. I haven't drank alcohol in five years or so, so I'm pretty boring, but I'm pretty healthy. I don't participate in that stuff anymore, I do OK without it.' Boring, but with style. Nelson said his outfit for the Sunday ceremony would include special shoes, a tribute to Luka Doncic. 'I'm wearing a pair of Luka's shoes,' Nelson said. 'He's my dear friend, this is in protest of the trade (the Mavericks traded Doncic to the Lakers in midseason). I get 15 seconds on national TV. I don't have to say anything. Look for those shoes, goddammit.'
