Green said the Rockets are going to be a force to be reckoned with for a while. He also responded to a Fred VanVleet quote earlier in the series.
HOUSTON — So, the Rockets’ season is over, ending at the hands of their postseason nemesis, the Golden State Warriors. Houston and Golden State battled for seven games, and when it was over Sunday night, Houston was done for the season while Golden State was preparing for the next round against Minnesota.
It was the fifth time the two teams met in the postseason — all five won by the Warriors. Two of the series have gone the distance, with Golden State winning the deciding Game 7 both times on the Toyota Center hardwood.
Once Game 7 was over, Draymond Green, the Warriors’ player who Rockets fans love to hate, had some high praise for his Round 1 opponents.
“That’s a young team to be reckoned with,” Green said. “And I told myself I was gonna talk crazy because they have been talking crazy all series and on the internet, but I gained so much respect for those guys. (Alperen) Sengun is an incredible player, the way Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams led those guys, they had no experience and they led them, took us to the brink. That team’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with.”
Green was also impressed with Houston’s Jabari Smith, who he said played like a veteran throughout the series, hitting big shots when it mattered most.
But before all fences are mended between Houston fans and Green, the Warriors enforcer also took a quick shot at the franchise that’s never beaten his team in the postseason.
“It’s always fun winning in the city and winning in this arena,” he said. “So, Fred (VanVleet) had made a comment earlier in the series, said ‘This ain’t that team,’” Green said. “It’s that organization, though, and we like coming to the city and playing in these situations. It’s been good to us.”
Green was clearly keeping some Fred VanVleet receipts.