Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams brought a defensive intensity to Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals in an ugly 101-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors. And that edge, or New Zealand humor, extended into his postgame press conference.
Adams, alongside teammate Kyle Anderson, was messing with the media from the beginning.
Early in the press conference, a reporter asked him to expand on the “easy fixes” against the Warriors that he addresses in his first answer.
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“I can't disclose that information, mate” quipped Adams. “Keep it under wraps. But it's not like a complicated thing. Like it's not -- it's not something that we can't do; put it that way. You know what I'm saying? I know I gave you nothing, but make those words work, all right, mate?”
Well then.
Then it soon got to “The Office” level of uncomfortable.
It’s hard to tell if Adams was joking, and emotions would certainly be running raw after a tough Grizzlies loss to go down three-games-to-one to the Warriors. The big man played extremely well too with a double-double (10 points, 15 rebounds) and a plus-13 plus-minus.
Adams, a New Zealand native, also has a sarcastic wit. Don’t forget the infamous Draymond Green below-the-belt incident in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals when he was playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Did Green purposely do it?
Golden State Warriors
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"Ummmmm ... (long pause) ... that's a tough one," he answered in 2019. “It is. That's a tough one. Nah, nah, he didn't. I think he wanted to flail -- he intentionally wanted to flail -- but I don't think (he thought), 'Let me just pinpoint, accurate, shin right into old mate's crown jewels.' I don't think he thought that.”
Adams would fit right in with Ricky Gervais, so it all makes sense now. NBA reporters just need to tread carefully. Very carefully.