It’s good that Draymond Green and J.J. Redick aren’t on the same team, because they’re certainly not on the same page.
Ahead of Thursday night’s tilt between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, both were asked about the rivalry that’s been brewing between these two sides. Their answers weren’t completely divergent, but they were most definitely different.
Here’s what Green had to say of the meeting, per Carl Steward of the Contra Costa Times:
Green said as much as the Warriors and Clippers may not like each other, they have developed a mutual respect as both clubs have gotten better from year to year.
“There’s definitely more respect than people think,” he said. “But it’s OK to not like each other. It’s part of the game. It’s what makes it fun. If everybody’s out there friendly, then what are we playing for?
Typical Draymond Green answer: honest, but not too honest, and most certainly correct.
Redick, who along with Chris Paul isn’t expected to suit up for Thursday night’s festivities, painted a slightly different picture while speaking with USA Today‘s Sam Amick:
“We’re both two really good basketball teams…Last year they beat our (butts) three out of four times, they win the championship, they’re the best team in basketball. So they have now what we want, which is a championship and the title. So we’re going after them. I don’t know that it’s a rivalry per se, in how I define it. But when our two teams go head to head, there’s a different feel about the game than any other team we play. I would say the only other team that maybe kind of feels the same way in terms of the nervousness in your stomach, and the tightness and the butterflies and all that, is the (San Antonio) Spurs. Those are the two teams (where) there’s a different feel to those games.
Basically, Green approaches this as a legitimate rivalry, while Redick seems to idolize the Warriors to the point that their square dances aren’t seen as rival matchups, but a chance for the Clippers to get a taste of where they need to be.
Neither player, for what it’s worth, is wrong.
Of course the Clippers should aspire to be the Warriors. Every team should. Maybe not in exact function, since their system is difficult to duplicate, but in feats and culture.
At the same time, this is a rivalry, in part because the NBA is short on rivalries. Every time Green faces off with Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan, things get physical. Doc Rivers’ comments over the summer about Golden State being lucky last season only add fuel to the fire.
No, there isn’t a barn-burning hatred festering between these two squads, not even if the Warriors are additionally driven to throttle the Clippers on the heels of Rivers’ misinterpreted, albeit still misplaced, offseason sentiments. But these are two of the best teams in the league, fighting for the same championship ground.
In today’s NBA, that, along with a relatively heated past, is enough to make this a rivalry—sans the intense hatred that accompanied the rivalries of 20 years ago.
