Golden State Warriors

Draymond Green says Warriors don't like Clippers, but they respect them

Published Nov. 19, 2015 3:53 p.m. ET

foxsports

It might not look like it when reading their barbs in the media, or watching the hard fouls they dish out on the court, but the Golden State Warriors respect the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sure, it sounds insane. But it's true.

Don't get it twisted, though. That doesn't mean the Warriors like the Clippers. They don't. They just have a healthy respect for them and the highly competitive and intense matchups the two teams have had over the past few years.

Let Draymond Green explain it, via the San Francisco Chronicle:

Since Green entered the league in 2012, the Warriors and Clippers have played each 19 times in the regular season and playoffs. The Dubs hold an 11-8 advantage over the Clips, though Los Angeles got the better of Golden State in their epic seven-game first-round series in 2014.

The Clippers host the Warriors at Staples Center on Thursday night.

“We always want to beat them, and they always want to beat us,” Green said after Wednesday’s practice. “… There’s definitely more respect than people think, but it’s also no secret that we don’t like them and they don’t like us. That has nothing to do with respect. We respect them, and I think they respect us.

“But it’s OK to not like each other. That’s a part of the game. It makes it fun. If everyone’s out there being friendly, man, what are we playing for? … You can’t play that hard against somebody for as long as we have if there’s no mutual respect.”