Draymond Green was looking to mix it up right from the opening tip in Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals on Sunday night.
The Golden State Warriors forward got into Boston Celtics center Al Horford and forced a jump ball on the first possession of the game. It was a sign of things to come for Green.
He was talking a lot more trash and playing with a higher level of physicality than normal. Green always plays on the edge, but he looked extra jacked up for this matchup after a lackluster performance in the Warriors' Game 1 defeat.
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It didn't take long for Green to cross the line in Game 2. He picked up a technical foul in the first quarter after some choice words following a hard collision with Grant Williams.
Green nearly got hit with another technical foul late in the second quarter after getting tangled up with Jaylen Brown. In fact, Green almost certainly would've received a technical foul for this incident if he didn't already have one from earlier in the game.
"I'm just trying to play basketball. I feel like that was an illegal play," Brown said after the Celtics' 107-88 loss. "I felt like that could have been called it, but they let it go.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do there. Some guy has his legs on top of your head, and then he tried to pull my pants down. I don't know what that's about. But that's what Draymond Green does. He does whatever it takes to win. He'll pull you and grab you, and muck the game up. That's what he does for that team. It's nothing to be surprised about."
Horford was quick to shoot down any impact Green had on the Celtics' composure when asked after Boston's defeat.
"No impact," Horford said, who added, "He's going to do what he does. We're not worried about him. We're going to do what we do, focus on us. We just didn't get it done tonight. We'll be better at home in Game 3."
Green finished with nine points, seven assists and five rebounds. He played well defensively, but the two reasons why the Celtics lost Game 2 were turnovers and another brutal third quarter. The Warriors scored 33 points off 19 Celtics turnovers, and they blew the game open with a 35-14 scoring edge in the third quarter.
Green will bring the same intensity he showed Sunday night to TD Garden for Game 3 on Wednesday.
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His energy level has the potential to lift himself and his teammates, especially on the defensive end of the floor. But we've also seen plenty of scenarios where it hurts both Green and the Warriors. It's a fine line that Green walks on a nightly basis.
"He raised his physicality to try to stop us and we have to raise ours," Brown said. "I'm looking forward to the challenge."