The Warriors have had a 23-24 start this season but that doesn’t mean Draymond Green isn’t still as cocky as ever.
GSW are currently in 10th seed in the West and today play second seed Memphis.
Some would say the two teams are pretty much rivals considering their recent history, but Green has invited all the smoke after relaying this message on his podcast:
“There’s never any shortage of bulletin board material,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “Everybody’s trying to build it up to be some rivalry. I don’t think they’ve accomplished enough yet for us to consider the rivalry, but it’s always a great game, and it’s one of those games that, you’re gonna get up a little bit more than some other games. It’s not the cliche, ‘Oh, every game is the same.’ It’s not that. It’s a big game, it’s a fun game to play. We know they’re going to come and bring the best out of us, we’re going to bring the best out of them, and it should be the game well. Ultimately, I always feel like, I always say, ‘If we play a good game, they play a good game, we win the game. We play our best they play their best we win the game.’”
Not for the first time, Klay Thompson has also called out the Grizzlies before today’s mouth-watering match up:
“They’re knocking on the door of championship contention, trying to knock us off,” Thompson told Commercial Appeal. “And they are loud about it. We’re trying to hold on to this run and they’re right there knocking at the door. Sounds like a rivalry to me.”
The two sides have met in the postseason for two years running and the first year, Grizzlies beat the Dubs in the Play-In and in that second year, the Warriors prevailed and obviously went on to win it all.
The last time the two met was on Christmas Day and Golden State celebrated a hard-fought 123-109 win even though Steph Curry was sidelined.
The game was full of heat and Thompson was fired up as ever that day, so much so, he was sanctioned for taunting Dillon Brooks in the fourth quarter.
After the game he really rubbed salt into the wounds by calling out Memphis: “You can’t talk dynasty when you haven’t won before. I don’t think people realize how hard that is, the commitment and sacrifice it takes. I mean, you’ve got to sacrifice your body. And I thought that was premature to talk, to even mention that word. But they bring the best out of us, and I think we do the same. And even though we don’t like them, got to respect them because they’re a threat.”
We cannot WAIT for 10PM!