Playing inside of Madison Square Garden for a Playoff game is one of the very few things that Cavaliers veteran Danny Green hasn’t seen during the course of his massively successful career.
Originally drafted by the Cavaliers with the 46th overall pick out of North Carolina back in 2009, Green came into this year’s postseason having played in 165 Playoff games before Tuesday night’s appearance – five more contests than the rest of Cleveland’s combined roster. And over that span, he’s played in 17 different venues as a visitor.
But the North Babylon, NY native has never suited up for one here in the Mecca.
“I’m very excited for it,” said the 16-year vet. “I expect a rowdy crowd, like everybody else expects. So, it should be fun. It should be a new challenge, individually and as a group. And some guys are from the Northeast area. Donovan’s from around here. Lamar’s from Philly. I’m from around this area. So, it’s going to be an interesting, fun atmosphere, but we’re ready for the challenge and excited for what The Garden has to bring.”
Green made Playoff appearance No. 166 on Tuesday night in the Cavaliers lopsided Game 2 victory at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. He didn’t light up the boxscore in his 20 minutes of work off the bench – going 1-for-2 from the floor for three points, adding four boards and a pair of steals.
“(After Game 1), coach came up to me and said, ‘Do what you gotta do to get yourself ready for Tuesday.’ He didn’t give me the details of what the rotation was going to be. He said we’re probably going to need you for some spacing. He said get your mind right, get your body right. The next day, in film and practice he said stay ready and wait for your number to be called.”
Green played in 20 postseason contests with Philly over the last two years. He made his Cavaliers postseason debut on Tuesday.
“It was good to get out there, have fun, be able to compete with the guys,” said Green. “Hopefully, I gave them a lift. And I hope to give them a better lift next game. I tried to do the little things out there – communicate, talk, scrap, give them some good energy, spacing – space the floor, play some defense.
“It was something to build on. It was good that we got the win, of course. But it was a chance to get my feet wet and get some minutes with some different groups out there.”
Over his career, the former Tarheel’s now played in 830 regular season contests with the Cavs, Spurs, Raptors, Lakers, Sixers and, most recently, the Grizzlies.
He’s one of just four players in league history to have won NBA Championships with three different franchises – joining LeBron James, Robert Horry and John Salley. Green won one of those three titles alongside LeBron with the Lakers back in 2020. He was also part of the Raptors squad that shocked Golden State in 2018 and Spurs team that shocked LeBron and the Heat in 2014.
And going into Game 3 at the Garden, Green knows the path to the title requires a team to excel in enemy territory.
“That’s what the Playoffs are about – Championship teams have to win on the road,” he said. “Game 3’s don’t necessarily dictate the series, but they can. Each game is a playoff series itself. Each quarter. But Game 3’s can be a big momentum change, depending on the atmosphere and the mentality and the mindset of the group. We lost homecourt advantage, and we have to get it back in Game 3.”
Green only played in three games with Memphis this year before being dealt to Houston as part of a three-team deal at the Deadline. He was released on February 12 and signed as free agent with the Wine & Gold for the rest of the season. When Kevin Love and the Cavs parted ways, he became the team’s most accomplished veteran.
“It’s been such a short time, but I hope I’ve gotten through to some guys and they feel comfortable with me at this point where they can ask questions or come to me with something,” Green explained. “And we know each other well enough now where we can talk to each other. We’re all getting a good rapport. It’s been a short time, but also those minutes on the floor helped get guys more comfortable with me, and vice-versa.”
The 35-year-old has also learned his craft from some of the best over his NBA career.
“I learned from all my vets, man,” said Green. “I mean, I was in San Antonio for seven years. But my first year in Cleveland, my rookie year, it was Bron, Shaq, we had those guys. We had Mo Williams. Anthony Parker was a true professional. Jamario Moon, Delonte West. Andy, who’s still here. So, we had a lot of guys that I could learn from. I was the only rookie, and I was a sponge.
“And then in San Antonio, there was Tim, Tony, Manu, Popp. I learned how to be a professional.”
Green hasn’t posted huge offensive numbers over the course of his career – averaging 8.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest while connecting at exactly a .400 clip from beyond the arc. He’s knocked down at least 100 triples in 11 of his 14 NBA seasons and his 1,577 three-pointers rank him 14th among active players.
The NBA long-timer, who’s seen it all, saw a big difference between the young Cavaliers from Game 1 to Game 2.
“Just the intensity was different,” he said. “I think it took one game for guys to understand – especially because, for a lot of them, it was their first Playoff game ever – to get used to the atmosphere, get used to the intensity. We played a good defensive floor game. Offensively, we could have been better, but we made our adjustments offensively, and defensively, we limited their offensive boards.
“We won the scrap game, that’s the biggest thing. And to finish on the defensive end. When you play good defense, you have to finish – and we did a better job of that.”
The Wine & Gold put on a show for the home crowd in Game 2. But they’ll be on hostile ground when Game 3 tips off on Friday night in New York.
“It’s going to be rowdy,” Green explained. “They’re going to come out, be even more intense. You beat a team like that in the Playoffs, they’re going come out with a chip on their shoulder. And they’re going to think that some of the plays that happened were dirty. So, they’re going to come with an extra edge. They’ll have their fans behind them for homecourt. And I’m sure they’re going to shoot better.
“So, we’ll need a really big defensive night. Offensively, if we continue to make our reads and trust one another and hit the open shots, I think we’ll be fine.”