The Warriors made their way to the 2022 NBA Finals in high spirits, but the Celticsquickly put their backs against the wall. Golden State, however, bounced back to turn around a 1-2 deficitand put itself one win away from the ultimate glory.
Steve Kerr‘s menwill try to finish the job on Friday night at the TD Garden, where they begantheir comeback last week. Ahead of Game 6, Draymond Green addressed the media as the Warriors hope to win their first title since 2018.
In his press conference, Green had an interesting take about the mental effort that’s required to beat a team like the Celtics. While he admittedthey are a tough team to face, Green made clear that for him there is no opponent as challenging as a team ledby LeBron James.
Green believes facing LeBronis more challenging than playing against Celtics or anyother team
“It doesn’t compare to mentally playing against LeBron James, who I think is arguably the smartest guy to ever play this game,” Green said when asked to compare this current series to the Warriors’ Finals against LeBron’s Cavs in the past, via Fadeaway World. “Not one of, he is arguably the smartest guy to set foot on a basketball court. To say that it compares to that, it’s disrespectful to LeBron and it’s a lie to you.
“[This is] not as much of a chess match as it is when you’re playing LeBron, who is dissecting every play in that computer of his, like in real time. Like that’s just a skill that not many people possess. Not many people can come and sit here and find a random stretch from seven minutes to four minutes in the second quarter and give you every play like to the T and not miss a beat. There’s not many people that can do that.
“Now, in saying that, it is a challenge mentally because these guys are super athletic,” Green added. “They are super young and fast and strong, and all the things that we know and have heard throughout the course of this series. They are those things. And then obviously they are super talented, and so when you are facing that, you have to try to out-think a guy.”
Green has all fair points, and it’s important to note that it had nothing to do with throwing shade at the Celtics. LeBron James is one of the toughest players to face in the league, especially in the most crucial stages of the playoffs. However, these Celticswill now try to provetheycan be as tough as a team lead by The King.