Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green recently stated that the Cleveland Cavaliers were playing “boring” games in the playoffs and that he wasn’t that interested in watching them.
On Wednesday, he shot back at some of the controversy that those comments have generated.
“First off, they take a statement, take a piece of a statement, and then say ‘Oh, man. Draymond said that the Cavs aren’t playing anybody.’ They never say that Draymond said ‘Cleveland’s playing great basketball.’ Everybody’s always chasing the headline and the controversy. Watching ESPN is like watching a controversial reality TV show. It’s pretty pathetic that that’s the headline everybody wants.”
The entirety of his comments can be seen here.
Draymond Green says he doesn't appreciate how his remarks about Cleveland's competition was overblown to get headlines. pic.twitter.com/uc3ka0yZVk
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 10, 2017
Draymond’s original comments were actually quite correct. They would also be correct in regards to the Warriors, who have actually been slightly more dominant than the Cavs. If you’re not a fan of one of the teams, it’s hard to come away with the feeling that their first eight games have been anything but boring.
Now, calling a team’s games boring can be taken as an insult. But it can also be a compliment, which applies to both Cleveland and Golden State.
There are exceptions, but more often than not “boring” is code for a blowout game. In a blowout — especially in the postseason — one team almost has to be playing great. If one team is playing mediocre, it’s highly unlikely that another playoff team will be playing bad enough to get blown out. If someone says that an undefeated team is playing boring games, that person is saying that the team is playing great.
The words “Cleveland is playing great basketball” might not have been reported, but they were strongly implied.