Draymond Green Fires Back at Rocket Ahead of Warriors Matchup

Getty Draymond Green

Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors may have a conundrum on their hands. The Houston Rockets are making a late-season surge, having won their last 10 games. With their upcoming matchup against the Warriors, Tari Eason called them out via Instagram.

“WARRIORS, COME OUT TO PLAAYY!”

Tari Eason was fired up after the Rockets won their 10th straight game last night 😂

(via @TAR13ASON/ IG)

Eason’s taunt is in reference to the 1979 film The Warriors, in which an enemy taunts them in the exact same fashion.

Green himself responded to Eason’s trash talk on his podcast, making notes of Eason’s lack of availability. ClutchPoints’ X account aggregated a clip of Green’s response.

“Shout out to the young fella… coming out to my Warriors, ‘Come out and play.’ Part of the reason why I like Tari is because he would come out and do that. When I saw it, I wasn’t surprised at all. I’m a little surprised that he hasn’t played in a game since January 1st. So it’s kind of tough to come out yelling, ‘Come out and play,’ and you not gonna play… You can’t come out and help them, but I respect it.”

Eason has not played in a game because a benign tumor in his leg forced him to have season-ending surgery. The Warriors and Rockets will face off on April 4, which could very well play into who makes the play-in and who misses it.

Video Shows Steph Curry’s Frustration With Draymond Green

Green was ejected from the Warriors’ game against the Orlando Magic after receiving two quick technical fouls less than four minutes into the game.

Following Green’s ejection, footage of Curry’s frustration with Green also hit the internet.

Curry’s agitation makes sense because the Warriors couldn’t afford to lose Green with the playoff race intensifying. The Warriors are 38-34, which ranks them as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. They are only one game ahead of the Rockets in the play-in race.

Even if the Warriors manage to stave off the Rockets, having the lowest seed gives them a hard mountain to climb if they plan to win a title.

The Warriors managed to win without Green anyway, beating a Magic team that is in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Steve Kerr Defends Steph Curry for Draymond Green’s Actions

Kerr defended Curry after the latter was criticized for his supposed lack of leadership in keeping Green in line. Kerr gave his real thoughts on the two on 95.7 The Game.

Steve Kerr: “Draymond knows he’s a grown man. He’s got to handle his own business. Any mention of Steph being culpable is just ridiculous. The way Steph has carried our franchise represented our franchise for 15 years. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“Draymond knows. I mean, he’s a grown man. He’s got to handle his own business,” Kerr said. “Any mention of Steph being culpable is just ridiculous. The way Steph has carried our franchise, represented our franchise for 15 years, it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

He delved further into how Curry dealt with Green’s ejection.

“He was the first one out there trying to talk Draymond off and handled it the right way,” Kerr said. “And the reason Draymond got kicked out is because as he was walking back to the bench, he muttered an expletive that the refs heard. And so, he deserved it. You can’t do that, but that’s not Steph’s fault.”