Sometimes, all Draymond Green needs is a spark to get him going.
Ahead of the Warriors’ 110-96 series-clinching win over the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center on Friday night, unbeknownst to everyone else, that spark was provided by none other than ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins.
After the Warriors eliminated the Grizzlies and advanced to their sixth Western Conference finals in eight years, Green went off on a rant directed at Perkins.
“Something came to my phone earlier,” Green said to reporters. “Some guy saying I’m scared to shoot the basketball. Scared and me in the same sentence is brutal. But you got a big ogre on TV talking about what Draymond says ain’t the gospel. It is the gospel. What I say is the gospel. When you say that multiple times on several different segments, you must think what I say is the gospel. So, you got to come out and shut some guys up sometimes. When you got people talking out the side of their neck. ‘Anybody can make the pass Draymond make.’ That’s just stupid.
“But these are people who get employed to talk on TV about our game. ‘Anybody could make that pass.’ You make that pass. We’d love to see it. I played against the guy by the way. I’m talking about Kendrick Perkins for those of y’all that don’t know. I’m never duckin’ no smoke. As the Memphis Grizzlies’ towels say, I don’t duck smoke. ‘Anybody could make that pass.’ You couldn’t, so good luck. You just got to come out and shut people up sometimes. It was very fun to do.”
Shortly after Green’s comments were relayed to the public via Twitter, Perkins posted a video response:
How did all of this start? During Friday’s morning’s episode of “First Take,” Perkins said this about Green:
“Matter of fact, can somebody tell Draymond Green it’s OK to look at the basket and actually shoot a shot?” Perkins said to hosts Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim. “I mean, because he’s afraid. I mean, I’m sitting up here seeing all the turnovers. He doesn’t even look at the basket”
“He’s afraid of taking the shot right now. So some of those assists he’s getting to Steph Curry, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson, I could go out there and get those same assists. They wide open. Ain’t nothing but a pass. So don’t let Draymond Green sit up here and fool you like everything that come out his mouth is the gospel.”
Draymond later responded by posted an Instagram story directed at Perkins.
In the first five games of the series, Green took a combined 17 shots, making 10 of them, good for a total of 24 points. But in the clincher on Friday night, the four-time NBA All-Star went 6-of-14 from the field, finishing with 14 points, while also grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing out eight assists. He was a plus-19.
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Green and Perkins are two of the loudest voices in the NBA and this surely won’t end with their back-and-forth Friday night. With the Warriors advancing to the West finals, Perkins likely will have more to say about Green over the next two weeks.
