Since returning from the All-Star break, the Warriors have won three straight games and have already clinched a playoff spot. While the competition hasn’t been great, the most satisfying win was definitely against the Los Angeles Clippers, arguably their biggest rival outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
One of the biggest stories that came out of that game was the trash talking between Draymond Green and Paul Pierce. Green called out Pierce for not having a farewell tour like Kobe Bryant did last year and Pierce came back with a 3-1 lead joke on Twitter.
Pierce also publicly said that a lot of Green’s success is due to playing with so many All-Star players. Green wasn’t having it and responded on Uninterrupted’s Dray Day podcast which features Bay Area News Group’s Marcus Thompson II. Green was quick to remind everyone that Pierce was the beneficiary of playing with All-Stars as well:
“People tend to forget he was struggling to to get to the playoffs and was on the trading block every year, then all of a sudden Ray Allen and KG showed up. Let’s not forget that.”
Once again, Green is spitting the truth. Pierce had only made the playoffs four times before Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen showed up and that was in the weak Eastern Conference. So there is some truth to what Green is saying, which is why it doesn’t make sense Pierce would use that as an attack.
Green continued and kept talking about how Pierce attempted to carry his team:
“Just because you were scoring points don’t mean you were carrying the team. If you couldn’t get anywhere and you couldn’t do nothing, where were you carrying them to? … Pierce had an amazing career. He was a beast. But how far was he carrying those teams? If you weren’t carrying them that far, I guess we’re in the same boat.”
Green and Pierce have the same amount of championships, so there is no argument there. Yes, Green is not the focal point of the team, but what he brings to the table is priceless. Pierce was the franchise player for the Celtics, but the team didn’t have much success, so Green questions his ability to carry the team.
Whether you’re a fan of the Warriors and Green, you could respect someone simply defending himself. Pierce initiated the trash talking and Green just finished it.