Drummond finds ‘peace’ with Warriors in playoffs, originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayria
Denver – For the first seven years of his NBA career, the playoffs became the second home for Drummond Green and the Warriors. From being a rookie to turning into an All-Star and future Hall of Famer, he was always a major key in guiding Golden State beyond the regular season.
He has the keys to the front door again, and feels right at home in the 2022 playoffs, a place he never wants to leave now or in the future.
“I feel like I’m in a familiar place,” Green said after the Warriors practice at Ball Arena on Saturday, the day before their Game 4 matchup with the Denver Nuggets. “I feel so at peace, because it all just feels so familiar.”
The past two seasons felt foreign to Green and others from the Warriors’ championship corps. He always brings it up in the regular season, no doubt about it. His laurels speak for themselves with multiple All-Star selections, including winning the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year, having been named All-Defensive six times and All-NBA twice.
If we’re being honest, maybe he should have some more trophies too.
Playoff Drummond is different though. The volume gets cranked up so high it can blow out the speaker and its laser-focus sounds almost uncanny. We know this was true in the past, and so has he. Through the Warriors’ first three games in their first-round series against the Nuggets – all victories – Greene has reminded himself of the truth above while sending a message to the rest of the league.
He certainly didn’t want the Warriors to miss out on the playoffs the last two seasons. Duh. There may just have been a silver lining to all of this.
“A few years of not doing this, it’s like, ‘Oh man, this regular-season basketball, you all can have this.’ I’m trying to get to the playoffs and play basketball,” Green said. “That’s fun basketball.”
Shortly thereafter, Green referred to a tweet sent by LeBron James on Friday night, expressing his sadness at not being in the playoffs this year because his Los Angeles Lakers season was horribly disappointing.
I can’t remember post season again for the sake of my career! This shit hurt. Ok back to watching these games.
— LeBron James (@kingjames) 23 April 2022
Drummond felt the last two seasons have been the same pain, watching the playoffs from home instead of fighting day in and day out for another title. It’s been nothing short of a nightmare for an opponent like Green, and his appreciation for the playoffs and the journey it required has only grown.
“I saw a tweet from Braun the other day. Damn it, that hurts,” he said. “You put your all in it and you go home and you watch post season, and people play for everything? You didn’t go into the season and didn’t work hard. You still do your job. So capable To flourish on this level in order not to be – that’s all.
“As for me, I’m dying to be back here. To be back here, I feel like I have to take advantage of this opportunity more than ever. I have a very deep appreciation for it.”
With the Nuggets going through the first three games of the Warriors series, this couldn’t be more clear. After his fourth All-Star season that saw him lose 31 straight games at one point due to a back injury, Green is on a mission as he sees the face of a giant, raising his game to a level that still Feels unfathomable many times.
In the Warriors’ first two games, he closed MVP Nikola Jokic and was plus-41 as Jokic was minus-45. Draymond admitted that Jokic outperformed him for the most part in Game 3 as the older man scored 37 points and 18 rebounds more efficiently. But with the game on the line, Green again gained the upper hand, swiping the ball from him and sealing the Warriors’ hard-fought victory with a signature steal.
Jokic finished as plus-3, Green was plus-4. Point, Drummond – Good for another Warriors win.
Whether in high school, college, the NBA or the Olympics, one thing has remained true about the now 32-year-old Green: He is the ultimate winner. Increase the pressure, what he does will prosper.
Most welcome.
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