Celtics aren't going to let Draymond Green do his thing as NBA Finals shift to Boston

BOSTON  -- Draymond Green was allowed to do anything and everything that he wanted during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The officials let the Warriors' instigator get away with his usual antics, and the Celtics allowed him to make an impact by letting Green get under their skin.

Green took aim at anyone wearing a Celtics uniform on Sunday night and got the better of them all. His physicality and trash talk threw just about everyone off their game, and the Warriors took advantage with a blowout victory.

Boston's message for Green ahead of Game 3 on Wednesday? Not in our house.

The Celtics aren't going to let Green do his thing as the NBA Finals shifts to Boston. They will not let his antics throw them off their respective games with the series tied at 1-1.

How will they go about keeping Green, his physicality, and his attitude at bay?

"You respond to fire with fire," Marcus Smart said Tuesday. "We just have to turn around and do the same thing. If he's going to come in and try to be physical, this is our house and we have to protect it."

Green's physicality was through the roof at Chase Center on Sunday, and the Warriors fed off it all night. He set some vicious  screens for Steph Curry and, at times, looked more like a football player than a basketballer.

Chances are that officials won't let him get away with that one going forward. Not after the scrutiny Zach Zarba, Tony Brothers and company received after Game 2, and certainly not on the road. 

But the Celtics are eager to respond themselves, and let Green know that they won't be putting up with his shenanigans anymore.

"As any competitor would tell you, when you get hit in the mouth like that there is only one way to respond. If you're not ready to do that then you don't need to be on this stage," said Smart. "On this stage, you have to be willing to risk it all for your team and for a victory. 

"By all means necessary," added Smart. "That's the mindset they have and it's the mindset that we have. But we have to go out an execute it."

While Smart may have a heavy screen or perhaps a stray appendage waiting for Green, Jayson Tatum said that he's going to let his play do the talking in Game 3.

"I'm all about being competitive and all those things. If you say something to me, I'm going to respond," Tatum said Tuesday. "I'm not an instigator or things like that. I just go out there and play."

Green's play had the biggest impact on Jaylen Brown in Game 2. Steve Kerr switched things up and put Green on Brown instead of Klay Thompson, and the Celtics guard struggled after his hot start to the game. Brown scored 13 points in the opening frame, but just four points the rest of the way. He finished the night 5-for-17 from the floor, and let Green get in his head in the second quarter when the two had a dust-up on the court.

Brown said that getting better screens from his teammates will help him get open should Green be matched up with him again in Game 3, along with some other adjustments. But he added that he won't be letting Green's antics get to him; he's got bigger things to focus on at this point.

"Just come out and play basketball and let everything else take care of itself," said Brown. "Don't get caught up in all the antics and stuff like that. Come out and play."

However they choose to address Green and his boisterous ways, Celtics head coach Ime Udoka just wants his players to be themselves.

"I say be who you are. If you want to ignore it, ignore it. If you engage, engage. Do what you do. Be who you are," said Udoka. "The main thing is to continue to stay composed."  

Game 3 was already going to be an entertaining showdown after the two teams split in San Francisco. Add in the potential for a Smart-Green war of antics, and there is a little more juice heading into Wednesday night's Finals showdown at TD Garden.