Draymond Green has played in six Game 7s in his postseason career, so the former Defensive Player of the Year knows exactly how the atmosphere and pressure affect the final result. All of these win-or-go-home contests were high stakes for Green and the Golden State Warriors, but only one could have led directly to a championship.
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The Dubs infamously fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. It wasn’t from a lack of preparation, though. Baron Davis wanted to know what was going through Draymond’s head in the moments leading up to one of NBA history’s most memorable Game 7 matchups.
The former guard asked how the energy was after Golden State gave up the series lead in Game 6 and what being at home for a Game 7 felt like.
Green has lost just two of his career Game 7s, with the first being a 2014 first-round battle with the Los Angeles Clippers. Before making his next point, the four-time All-Star was under the impression that the only Game 7 he played at home, he lost. The Warriors had actually eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7, at home, in the previous series. But Green’s point still stands.
“And what I’ll tell you is, the home court don’t mean anything,” Green told Davis on his show. “Because if you can get the crowd involved, great. But do you know how loud Oracle was when Kyrie hit that shot? … The home court don’t mean anything, because again, this is a one-game series. This is March Madness. This is single elimination.”
The four-time champion believes all past records go out the window in a winner-take-all matchup. It only takes one magical performance from an unheralded talent to make the difference this late in the series. It also only takes one off-game from a star to lose all momentum.
“One guy can get hot, and one guy goes berserk, and that’s that, you know what I’m saying?” Green continued. “So I don’t think Game 7 [at home] mean anything. So to that point, if I’m OKC, I’m coming into this game and I’m like, ‘Yo fellas, if they hit first, we gotta come out swinging, but we may get punched first. We just gotta stay the course.'”
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been heavy favorites to win the NBA Championship for weeks, but none of that matters now. Each play will be amplified in importance, but if the Thunder hope to raise their first banner at home, they’ll have to ensure that they don’t overthink when the momentum inevitably swings.
If anything, Green believes even more pressure is on the Thunder because of their status as favorites. He recalled that he started firing in his Game 7 against the Cavs because of their previous losses and the desperation that came with it. The 35-year-old also knows that one bucket can be the difference between winning and losing when both teams are struggling to score.
“Andre make that layup, everything changes,” Green reminisced on LeBron James’ legendary block on his former teammate. After six hard-fought contests, Game 7 is always set up for fireworks. This year’s NBA Finals matchup will be no different.
No one expected the Indiana Pacers to be in a position to win the franchise’s first championship. But it happened, and nothing else that comes before tomorrow night matters now. Now, with each team needing just one win, Draymond Green doesn’t think the Pacers should fear OKC’s roaring crowd at the Paycom Center.
