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Draymond Green and his post-game comments were fresh on the minds of the Maimi Heat Friday night (May.27).
If the Miami Heat needed any motivation going into their Game 6 elimination game against the Boston Celtics, they had to look no further than sports talk shows and arguably the loudest voice in the NBA, Draymond Green.
Following the Golden State Warriors’ Western Conference Finals victory over the Dallas Mavericks, punching their ticket to the NBA Finals, Draymond Green declared the Boston Celtics would be the team they would be facing. The only problem with his statement is the Miami Heat still has a great chance to win the series.
Draymond Green decided to join the Inside The NBA crew outside of the Chase Center to chop it up with Shaq, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smtih, and Charles Barkley. Egged on by O’Neal, Green let it be known who he felt he and his Warriors were going to play in the NBA Finals.
“I’m going to tell you who I think we’re going to play. We’re going to play Boston,” Green responded. “That’s who we’re going to play.”
Greens comments and sports pundits like Stephen A. Smith, and fellow players current and former like Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Perkins also looking past a very much alive Miami Heat team was all the fuel they needed.
Led by Jimmy Butler’s exceptional play that saw him dig deep, dropping 47 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out eight assists, and four steals, the Heat pushed the series to a seventh and decisive game in Miami on Sunday (May 29).
Immediately after the game, the long-time Heat player and the heart and soul of the team Udonis Haslem walked up to Mark Jackson, Mike Breen, and Jeff Van Gundy with a message, “Tell Draymond Geen thank you.”
Haslem wasn’t done speaking on the matter. Chopping up with Yahoo Sports, he told the outlet that “Draymond broke the code,” adding “You ain’t supposed to say some s*** like that. That’s disrespectful. He know better than that.”
“He let Shaq peer pressure him into saying some s*** he ain’t got no business saying,” Haslem told Yahoo Sports. “I didn’t sleep much after he said that. That was some bulls***.”
“We did what we were supposed to do. Don’t ever count us out,” Haslem continued.
Haslem wasn’t the only Heat player not feeling Draymond Green’s premature prediction.
“I don’t know what part of the game is that,” P.J. Tucker told Yahoo Sports. “A player picking a team before they’re out. That’s crazy, bro.”
The NBA is big on narratives and it would be one hell of a story if the Miami Heat managed to win Game 7 and send the Boston Celtics home.
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Udonis Haslem & The Miami Heat Feel Draymond Green Crossed The Line With Boston Celtics Prediction was originally published on cassiuslife.com
