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Draymond Green wants to see more fight from the Warriors in Game 4

CLEVELAND – Based on what he's seen at the NBA Finals so far, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green believes the Cleveland Cavaliers are much more interested in winning a title than his own team.

"They are playing like a team desperate and needs something," Green said before Wednesday's practice. "And we are playing like a team that's not desperate and got something."

The Warriors won Game 1 of the NBA Finals 108-100 over the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers entered the series without two injured starters in Kevin Love and Anderson Varejao and lost a third for the season in Kyrie Irving in the Finals opener. The Warriors became even bigger favorites after Irving got hurt.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers, however, have overcome their major injuries by winning the next two games with tough defense and gritty play. Cleveland now has a surprise 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series going into Game 4 on Thursday.

Draymond Green (right) wants to see more fight out of the Warriors in Game 4. (Getty)
Draymond Green (right) wants to see more fight out of the Warriors in Game 4. (Getty)

So what do the Warriors need to become?

"A more spirited team," Green said. "I'm not saying we're going to come in and make every shot. Who knows? Shots may fall, they may not. But I'm willing to bet that if our intensity level is higher the shots go in. If you cut a little harder the shots fall. If you attack the rim a little harder that shot will go down.

"I think everything we do to our intensity level whether it's our shooting, whether it's a turnover, whatever it is. I think if we raise our intensity level it erases more than 50 percent of the problems that we have. I look forward to doing that."

Green says the Warriors need more energy and fight than more strategy and a new defensive scheme on James.

"Who got a 50-50' ball? Who dove on the floor? [Cleveland's Matthew] Dellavedova. Who dove on the floor for the other loose ball? Dellavedova," Green said. "Who dove on the floor? [Cleveland's] Mike Miller. That's three loose balls. That's possibly six more points, maybe nine. Maybe you take away a couple baskets from them.

"So those are the things that change. It ain't all double-teaming LeBron and him scoring 40. They still scored 96 points. They haven't scored over 100 this entire series. There isn't much more strategy you can put in. It's the little things. Keeping Tristan Thompson off the offensive boards. I don't even know how many offensive rebounds they had last night [in Game 3]. I would guess 15. Maybe more. Let's suppose instead of 15, they get seven. Those are the little things we need to get cleaned up and all the sudden you're winning ballgames. Not double-teaming LeBron stopping him from getting 40 and they score 96 points."

While Green is the vocal leader of the Warriors, he says "everybody" on the team is speaking up because if they don't they will be "home in a couple of days" with the season over.

"We've been rolling with the wind and all of the sudden turn it on," Green said. "We've done that a couple of games now. It is something that needs to be changed and will be changed."

With frustration, Green also said he is not surprised by how his team is looking in the Finals. He says Golden State was lackadaisical at the start of a first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans, a second-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies and in the Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets before winning each.

"It's just like a maze," Green said. "We've got to figure it out. After that, guns blazing."

Green has been suffering back spasms since taking a hard fall in Game 2, but will play in Game 4. He has missed 13 of 17 shots the past two games and four of his five 3-pointers. Green had an ice bag on his back while talking to the media on Wednesday, but didn't express major concern.

"Everybody is playing through injury at this point," Green said. "It's June. We started in September. Everybody is hurt."

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