Draymond Green disses Horford, Celtics for Finals preparation originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Draymond Green isn’t done taking shots at the Boston Celtics.
The Golden State Warriors star continues to take his victory lap two weeks after defeating the C’s in the NBA Finals. It took six games to finish the job, but Green still seems to believe it was one of the Warriors’ easier championships.
On a recent episode of the “Old Man and The Three” podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, he was asked how preparing to face the C’s compared with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who he faced in his first four Finals appearances.
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“It’s easier because we’re not playing LeBron James,” Green replied. “They asked me a question in a press conference like ‘How does the IQs rank against Boston versus LeBron’ and it’s like, shut up. What are we talking about? It’s easier when you’re not playing LeBron James, who is the ultimate mastermind in our game. So, you’re not playing that chess match with him. It’s a lot easier to play a chess match against anybody else, but against LeBron it’s different.
“And Bron can prepare his guys for what’s to come. Al Horford couldn’t prepare them for what’s to come, so you know that going in, no disrespect to Al Horford.”
It’s a fair point from Green. Horford is a veteran leader for the Celtics, but this was the 36-year-old’s first Finals appearance in his 15-year NBA career. He played in 141 playoff games before finally getting over the hump. That he couldn’t prepare for the big stage like James should come as no surprise.
But the Horford shade didn’t end there, nor did Green’s take on the Celtics’ lack of preparation.
“Well, Al Horford also did this in Game 1,” Green said, imitating Horford flexing. “Then he did it in Game 6 and I laughed at him and they lost.
“But they didn’t know what to expect, and going into that, being in the Finals five times, you understand what to do with your family. You understand what to do with your friends. You understand all these things. I put my kids on a totally different floor of the hotel because you need to stay locked into that moment. And so I knew that they weren’t truly ready and prepared for that moment.”
Green didn’t look all that prepared either for most of the series. The four-time All-Star had more personal fouls (18) than points (17) over the first four games and undoubtedly was rattled by the rowdy TD Garden crowd in Game 3.
Ultimately, he got the last laugh and his fourth championship ring since 2015. He’s been trolling the Celtics ever since, and we probably can expect much more where that came from until Boston finally brings home Banner 18.
