Celtics

Grant Williams says Warriors were not the better team in NBA Finals win over Celtics

"I still would say confidently -- confidently -- to this day they weren't the better team."

By Tom Westerholm

July 20, 2022

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Grant Williams has had a few weeks to think about the Celtics‘ loss in the NBA Finals to the Warriors, and he still believes the Celtics were the better team.

In an appearance on Heat forward Duncan Robinson’s “The Long Shot” podcast, Williams — who, per the podcast hosts, showed up to record with a glass of wine in each hand — talked very candidly about his rivalry with Draymond Green, as well as how the Celtics feel after their six-game defeat.

“When I’ve reflected and looked back to those games, I still would say confidently — confidently — to this day they weren’t the better team,” Williams said. “I would say they were the more disciplined team. I would say that without a doubt.”

Williams added that the Celtics — who averaged 16.8 turnovers per game in the Finals — felt like they self-destructed, as the Warriors’ “championship pedigree” helped boost them.

“You should have heard how bad they celebrated after Game 4,” Williams said. “They were screaming, because they knew they weren’t supposed to win that game. Stuff like that, the over-confidence side of things got to us.”

Williams and Green bickered consistently throughout the series, and Green was caught on camera yelling that Williams — who said before the series that he modeled his game after Green — was a “fan.” Williams told the hosts he countered by poking at Green about his poor shooting during the Finals.

“I’m always trying to do the annoying s—,” Williams said. “I got facts about this man from Google. ‘Ain’t you supposed to be from Saginaw? How you going to complain about this bulls— ass call?’

“Somebody told me a story about how he got into an altercation when he was younger and he was knocked out, and I remember, I was doing research. I was dialed in trying to throw him off, and that was the first time I’ve ever had Dray not say something back to me. I was like, ‘Yeah. I got one that time.'”

Williams closed the segment by once again reiterating that Green was someone he modeled his game after and “idolized,” so the trash talk was “all love.” Whether or not Green agrees — especially in light of Williams’ claim that the Warriors were not the better team — remains to be seen.

Other takeaways from the pod

• Williams said he watched Kelly Olynyk’s famous 26-point Game 7 against the Wizards “literally an hour before” his 7-for-18 3-point explosion in Game 7 against the Bucks. Williams called it “some weird life s— that happened.”
  
  “I’ve always been defensive-minded, but also play-making side of things and less so scoring,” Williams said. “So just the fact that I looked up, and I have 27 in an NBA game — Game 7, the Eastern Conference semifinals.”
• Robinson informed Williams that Erik Spoelstra and the Heat specifically tailored their game plan to prepare for Williams’ defense, a fact the Celtics forward relished.
• The hosts asked Williams for the most underrated shooter in the NBA. Robinson picked Seth Curry, and Williams went with Patty Mills (a selection Robinson co-signed enthusiastically).
  
  Williams had one more suggestion, however.
  
  “Sam Hauser,” Williams said. “If y’all have not seen him play, this man, if he ever cracks our rotation, because we have a gauntlet ahead of him right now, but this man — if you see him shoot, it’s absolutely absurd. I don’t know who I would take in a shooting competition between anybody besides Sam Hauser.”
  
  Robinson’s co-host Davis Reid joked that Williams needed to be careful not to disrespect Robinson.
  
  “Disrespect!” Williams exclaimed. “It’s massive disrespect. Sam sprays it. He can’t spray it on the move [like Robinson] though.”