Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is one of the most interesting personalities in the NBA, and perhaps all of sports. The NBA All-Star has made his presence known in recent years and has grown in popularity thanks to his all-around play and strong vocal leadership.
Green also is sharing his life on and off the court with ESPN's The Undefeated through a playoff diary that he hopes ends after a second straight NBA championship.
The Undefeated: Take me through today, it's not your normal game day. (Saturday's Game 1, a 104-78 win over the Rockets, tipped off at 12:30 p.m. PT.)
Green: "It's definitely not normal. This morning I woke up, got a quick clean-up haircut. I ate breakfast, got dressed and headed on to the gym. I am actually a fan of the daytime game like that. Now you got the rest of the day to relax, spend time with your family and enjoy the day. It is definitely not your normal day. It is a little different for sure."
The Undefeated: What was it like coming to the arena for the first playoff game?
Green: "Great feeling getting to the arena today. First playoff game. Always excited about the playoffs. That is what we all play for, to reach this point and try to compete for a championship. Great feeling. Great vibes just rolling in here today. Hopefully, this is the start to another two-part [title] process for us."
The Undefeated: What did you think about the physicality of the game?
Green: "I thought it got a little physical there. But at the end of the day, that is what you expect from playoff basketball. You know it is going to get physical. I think teams think that is the blueprint to beating us, so they are always going to try that as well. But playoff basketball, you got to expect them to be a little physical. That has been the case for years."
The Undefeated: Thoughts on Stephen Curry and Patrick Beverley in Game 1?
Green: "My thoughts on what happened with Steph and Patrick Beverley was -- I'm going to go over there and make sure everything is all right. That is my guy. It is not his job to be in the scuffle. He is doing a lot of other stuff. But at the end of the day, I like the fire. You're not going to just let anyone lay up on their shoulder or do all kind of other stuff. So you get him up off of you. I like that. But that also kind of lights another fire under Steph, which I don't think is a very good idea. I think people try to do it like he's soft. But he is not soft. He is the ultimate competitor. He is not as good as he is without the competitive nature that he has. When guys try to pull that soft card or whatever they are doing, it wakes up somebody completely different in him."
Warriors ready for Game 2 -- with or without Steph
The Undefeated: What is the mentality for Game 2?
Green: "Our mentality in Game 2 is to come out and dominate. On and off the floor. We know we've beat this team before without Steph at their place. We know the blueprint. We know what we have to do. If he's not out there, which in our situation you have to plan for him not to be out there. Then if he is, that is not really an adjustment because we are used to him being out there anyway. Our mentality is still the same. Go out and hit singles. This is not a team where you try to hit home runs. It usually results in turnovers for them, and turnovers result in layups and 3s. Go out and hit singles, use each other and play together."
The Undefeated: What do you do on a rare off night?
Green: "After a game, I really just relax with the family. I'm getting a massage right now. You just try to get your body ready to go for Monday. The turnaround is only one day in between. So everything you do [from] this point on is affecting your performance on Monday. It is playoff time now. You got to be locked in and do what you have to do to get your body ready."
The Undefeated: How much of the other playoff games are you watching?
Green: "I actually watched the Boston-Atlanta game. I'm watching the OKC-Dallas game. I'm a huge fan of basketball. Any time you get a chance to watch basketball, I do it. These are teams we could possibly face down the road. You always want to see what type of game they are playing right now. Sometimes it changes during the playoffs. The rotations are shorter. A lot of stuff is different.
"It was a fun day for me to come out, playoffs. It seems like the Finals were so long ago, but they came so fast. I am going to enjoy the start of these playoffs and hoping we can make another run. I'm feeling real good about it."