Draymond Green trash-talks C.J. McCollum in Game 1 win
Although the Golden State Warriors pulled away from the Portland Blazers late in Game 1, en route to a win, it didn’t stop Draymond Green from trash-talking C.J. McCollum.
The Portland Blazers backcourt duo of C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard came out guns blazing, scoring a combined 75 points, on 28-of-54 shooting.
But, the Warriors’ Draymond Green proved once again why he may be the most valuable player on Golden State In a game that featured two-time MVP Steph Curry and four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant, Green was the one that shined the most.
Green filled out the box score, tallying up 19 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 blocks and 3 steals. His defensive play in the third quarter turned Oracle back into Roaracle and after that the Dubs weren’t going to lose. But in one play, Green went up for a breakaway dunk, but threw the ball off of the back rim, leading to the missed slam.
Here’s what McCollum said to Green, which he relayed to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole in the postgame press conference.
"Yeah, he told me I need to do more calf raises. No, it’s mutual respect both ways. We’ve played those guys last year in the series, but quite a bit over the last four or five years where you kind of know them, they know you. But we all know each other off the floor as well. It’s not like there’s anyone out there being disrespectful towards another. It’s fun. You hit a shot, he’s talking to us. I hit a shot, I’m talking to them. I miss the dunk, he’s telling me I need to do calf raises. It was good back and forth, it makes the game a lot more fun, that’s for sure."
On the other hand, McCollum isn’t backing down either, as he had this to say to Poole after the game.
"It’s a game we all love. We come out here and represent our teams, representing our hometowns where everybody’s from. And where I’m from, if you talk trash, then I’m going to talk trash to you. It’s not disrespectful. We’re not talking about nobody’s mamas or nothing bad."
This only adds to the excitement ahead of Game 2 on Wednesday at Oracle Arena, as they Blazers’ duo isn’t afraid of the super team in Oakland.
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Green likes to instigate other teams’ players and push people’s buttons, but McCollum’s showing that Portland isn’t afraid either.