Draymond Green has grown into one of the most interesting personalities in the NBA, and perhaps all of sports -- the vocal leader and emotional engine for one of the most popular NBA teams in recent memory.
Green has agreed to give Marc J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated an exclusive look into his life on and off the court via a playoff diary that he hopes ends after a second straight NBA championship.
Diary Entry No. 2: April 18, 2016. Warriors defeat Houston Rockets 115-106 in Game 2 with Stephen Curry out nursing an ankle sprain.
As far as Steph being out, I had kind of put it in my head after the last game that he wouldn't play. Once he came in [Monday] and didn't go to shootaround, I was like, 'All right, he is probably not playing.' And once he did his pregame warm-up, he came right back in and said he couldn't go. So it was kind of right then that you were sure he was out. But I had been preparing for that for days.
It was frustrating because you want him to be out there, and he brings so much to our team. But at the end of the day, we prepared the last two days like Steph wasn't playing. It wasn't a surprise to us. We knew, 'All right, we got to pick him up.'
As far as Steph being in the next game, I know he doesn't want to miss two games. But at the end of the day, there is no reason for him to be out there. We have to continue to pick him up. We plan on playing until June. To try to force him back out there now is not really the best idea. I think he will be out there, from my conversations with him. But we just got to play it by ear and continue to see his progress over the next couple of days.
Game 2 builds our confidence and momentum to go out there and beat them without Steph. We're already a very confident team. We already got the blueprint for winning without Steph. Obviously, we can't win the way we always win without him, but a game here and there, we think we can do it. We're very confident in that, and other guys have to step up.
Green is averaging 12 points, 12 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.5 blocks and two steals in this first-round series versus Houston while wearing signature shoes special to only the Bay Area.
The shoe that I have been wearing is the Nike Hyperev. They are selling them in the stores as "Draymond Green PEs [Player Exclusive]." They have been selling out pretty quick. It is a great basketball shoe. I actually wear them. I beat them into the ground. I don't exchange them too often. I didn't design it, but I actually just sent Nike things that I love in a shoe for them to consider when designing in the shoe. I don't think I am really there yet to where I should get my own signature line, but it is trending in the right direction.
In addition to him being the team's top rebounder, defender and assist man, Draymond reveals that he is also the team DJ.
I am the DJ on the plane. Shaun [Livingston] is the one that wants me DJ'ing, saying, "Hey, Money, turn the music on." On the plane I typically play hip-hop. Sometimes I like slow jams, but we can't just have slow jams blasting on the plane. For the most part, I'm usually playing some hip hop.
Mass flooding claimed the lives of at least five people in Houston on Monday, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses and forced evacuations. The Warriors travel to Houston on Wednesday for a two-game road trip. The flooding has been on Draymond's mind.
I have been following what has been going on in Houston, and it's very sad seeing that people have been losing their cars and their homes are damaged. I heard a couple of lives have been lost. That is tough. I am not sure what the problem is. I am not sure if their [draining] system is not right. Hopefully, it's something they can get corrected pretty soon.