NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: ROCKETS vs WARRIORS

April 28, 2025

Draymond Green

Game 4 - Postgame Media Conference

Warriors 109, Rockets 106

Q. Draymond, when you went back in with those five fouls, they needed you on the floor, what was going through your mind?

DRAYMOND GREEN: Just not pick up a cheap one. I'm never going to be one of the guys that just because you got fouls you don't defend. I feel very confident in my defensive ability to defend. I'm going to contest at the rim.

In that situation, you just got to make sure your fundamentals are clean. So that's what I try to do. If I'm going to go vertical on Amen at the rim, guard Sengun at the post, I try to make sure my fundamentals are...

Yeah, I can't be a guy for this team just because I got fouls I lay off. I'm our defensive anchor. You got to be there. If I foul out, I just foul out. I'm better served -- I can better serve this team just playing. If I foul out, I'm gone, than staying out there and just giving the best.

Q. What did you see on the last play against Sengun?

DRAYMOND GREEN: He likes the iso right in the middle of the paint. He started coming downhill. I gave a little ground. Stack always tell us it's a time that you have to get serious, time to get serious. You just try to pick that point. I don't want to pick it too early to where he's facing me. Now I pick up a cheap one.

Just try to find that sweet spot and where to get serious, as Stack says. I thought I found a great spot. He took a deep jump up.

Q. You talked about your technical, how sometimes you strategically use them.

DRAYMOND GREEN: I got a technical tonight. That was guys way more aggressive than me. That's crazy.

Q. What happened overall in the second quarter?

DRAYMOND GREEN: They were trying to muddy the game up. But it's fine. We kept it pushing.

Q. Your thoughts on Podziemski, not so much his shooting or skills, what about his makeup allows him to have a game like this?

DRAYMOND GREEN: I think it's his heart. Skill, the skill is there. What pick was he, 14th or something like that? 19th pick. That's coming from a smaller school, 19th pick.

The skill is there, but it's his heart. I like to call it irrational confidence, although he puts the work in, so... But he has irrational confidence. It's one of those things that I actually wish I had. But he just has the ultimate belief in himself and his abilities.

He went out there, he showed it. Quite honestly, he's been showing it for the last few months. Since he came back from injury, he's pretty much been lights out. Tonight we needed it in a major way and he stepped up. He answered the call. 26 points. He's one of those guys that you just want on your side.

People try to pick on him. They do this. He don't back down from anybody. He's smart as hell on both ends of the floor. Great draft pick by Mike.

Q. When it comes to dealing with Brooks, he's talking on the free-throw line, throwing a shot... Do you guys ever have to actually calm the other down, don't get let him get in your head?

DRAYMOND GREEN: No, they do that.

Q. Who?

DRAYMOND GREEN: They be calming each other down. We don't get off into that. We just do what we do.

Q. What did you think about Steph's taunting technical?

DRAYMOND GREEN: All he said was, That's two (smiling). There's been way more taunting than that in this series.

But, hey, it is what's. I like it.

Q. I think we all could see what Jimmy was going through out there. What did you think of what he gave you guys? What did it take for him to play like that?

DRAYMOND GREEN: Well, his presence, number one, is huge. I've spoke about it over and over again. Just the commitment that our ownership group and front office made to Jimmy, not only to Jimmy, but to Steph and I and Steve.

We've been here for many years, still feeling like we have a chance, but not quite there. Need a little boost. Our ownership group made a two-year $220 million commitment to get that boost.

Tonight was great. He played through the injury. Was beautiful. But it's just his presence. What his presence does for this team is humongous.

The first three quarters, he couldn't move. Not sure how he started moving in the fourth quarter, but... First three quarters he couldn't move. Yet he never complained. He stuck with it.

I think what was most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked to get him the ball. When you get him the ball, he made great things happen for himself or for others. It was huge.

I think my favorite play was the last rebound. I looked up, I thought it was Kuminga out there flying. It was Jimmy.

Q. You've dealt with trying to get back from injury, Rick. Did you see Jimmy much over the last couple days? Were you surprised he was able to convince Rick to give him the green light?

DRAYMOND GREEN: I wasn't surprised because it's a Playoff game. If it was a regular-season game, Rick wouldn't even talk to him. But Playoff game. Haven't seen him much. I am in a meeting. He is out of the way. Shootaround quickly, he was gone out of the way. No extra shooting.

I came into the locker room today. Jimmy has his whole little aura going with the candles and stuff. I didn't see all his things. I was like, Is he not playing? Just had us go through shootaround like maybe he would be playing or not.

But he was huge. Showed up for us. Closed the game up for us. It's big.

Q. You mentioned trying to muddy it up a little bit. How concerned were you with not just the fifth and sixth personal foul but the second technical foul?

DRAYMOND GREEN: Not at all. I wasn't worried about a second tech. Can't play the game worrying. Like I said before, if I'm going to go out there worrying, I'm not doing this team any justice. I just go sit down if I'm going to go out there and be cautious. No place to be cautious. It's Playoff basketball. Got to give it everything you got.

I wasn't worried one bit.

Q. You shrugged off their fans, some comments. Have you felt restraint from yourself walking that line?

DRAYMOND GREEN: I'm always walk that line. It's who I am. Habitual line stepper. No, I'm just... (Laughter).

Q. You referenced how they gave you that boost with Jimmy. How much do you appreciate being back here at this point in your career, where you have a legitimate chance to do it all again?

DRAYMOND GREEN: This is what you live for. When you've been to the mountaintop, little tough for other things to excite you, except getting back to the mountaintop.

I see Joe standing back there. This guy doesn't allow us to just walk around here. If the goal isn't to get to the mountaintop, he's not happy, then everybody around here is not happy. It's just not a happy place when we're not competing for that.

To have the opportunity at this point to still compete and make a run for it, it's all you can ask for. It's all you ever want. You're training in the summer. On the days where you don't feel like getting up, getting out of bed, it hurts, this is what you do it for, to get to this moment and have a chance to compete for it all.

I think we got just as good a chance as anybody to do it. We know how to do it. That's been our mission since February.

Q. With the opportunity to close it out in Houston, how do you approach Game 5?

DRAYMOND GREEN: We know they're going to come out and try to punch us in the mouth. Any team facing elimination is going to do that. You find a physical, proud team like they are, they're definitely going to do that. Just got to go in there and take the punch, then deliver your own back.

Be a tough game. It will be the toughest one of them all. It always is. But we just need to go in, stick to our game plan. If we do that, we give ourselves a chance to win.

Q. Considering how the health of this team is right now, how important is it for you guys to get Game 5 done so you can get the necessary rest?

DRAYMOND GREEN: It's not the end of the world. But when you have an opportunity to close, you want to do that. You let series extend on, injuries happen, freak things can happen. You have an opportunity to close, you want to do it. That will be our focus.

But it's not like if we go in there and we're not able to get the job done, we're pulling our hair out. You just move on to the next one. We got all the confidence in the world that we can go in and close it out. That will be our focus going down there.