Celtics fans beat Draymond Green at his own game

There’s all sorts of angst and hurt feelings in the 2022 NBA Finals between the Warriors vs. Celtics, and most of it stems from Celtics fans and Draymond Green. Throughout the Celtics’ win in Game 3, Boston fans chanted “F*** you Draymond!”

It elicited a big response from Golden State following the game. Obviously the Warriors are going to defend their guy, but the response from the team was a little much. It even led to Steve Kerr and Klay Thompson using the dreaded “c-word.”

Green’s mantra, outside of being a pivotal two-way player for the Warriors, is to be annoying. In many ways, it’s his defining skill. He follows in a legacy of players whose on-court skill is only matched by their ability to throw everyone else off their game. Dennis Rodman did it with the Bulls in the ‘90s, Bill Laimbeer with the Pistons in the ‘80s — more recently you had Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace with the ‘03-04 Pistons. In all these cases we had players who existed to infuriate, while becoming the lightning rod for hatred to pull heat away from their teammates. That’s what makes this all so amusing — the Warriors are incensed that Celtics fans would beat Draymond at his own game.

Now, it should be noted that it’s not all of the Warriors getting upset. Stephen Curry and even Green himself took a measured approach to the fan hatred in Boston. Curry called it “par for the course,” adding “he expects it.” Meanwhile Green added “They just talking. Not really my job to react to them. They did what I expected.”

The truth is, yelling “F*** YOU DRAYMOND!” is probably softer than anything Green says to his opponents on the court. We just don’t get to hear it because he’s not mic’d up. He’s one of the great trash talkers in the modern NBA, and when the dust settles he might join the pantheon of the league’s greatest with Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Reggie Miller — all known for their absolutely brutal on-court talk during their playing days that would turn opponents into pools of emotional mush.

So what’s the real gripe of insinuating Celtics fans are lacking “class”? It’s simply frustration that fans beat Draymond at his own game. We don’t know whether the ceaseless chanting played a role, but we do know that Green was awful in Game 3. He finished with two points and four boards, while committing six fouls in a -13 performance that put Golden State down in the series.

The weird part is why the Warriors and those in their orbit thought poking the bear was the way to go when it comes to Celtics fans? Whether it’s Kerr and Thompson, or Green’s wife launching into a tirade.

This reaction will only make fans louder, stoke the fire more, and ensure the chants get nastier — but let’s be clear: We cannot discuss action’s like Wednesday night solely through rose-colored glasses of fan passion. The truth is, the Celtics have an established history of racism amongst their fanbase. As recently as last year Celtics’ star Jaylen Brown discussed the issue with the Boston Herald.

“I think painting every Celtics fan as a racist would be unfair. However, Boston, we’ve got a lot of work to do, no question,” he said. “There’s a lack of resources there, lack of opportunity.”

If the hate stays relegated to yelling expletives, go for it. No harm, no foul. It might ruffle feathers, but Green is welcoming that kind of hate. If this crosses the line into quantifiable, racist hatred — then it’s time for the team and the league to step in. If this is just some “F*** YOU!” chants, well ... turnabout is fair play.