TORONTO Raptors forward Danny Green plans to keep shooting amid his struggles from the floor heading into the NBA Finals.
Green is in the middle of a slump after missing nine consecutive three-point attempts over his last three games as the Raptors prepare to face two-time reigning champions the Golden State Warriors.
However, Green said he is not going to change his approach in Game 1 on Thursday.
“It’s hard not to think about it, because everybody in the world is telling you, ‘Don’t think about it’,” Green told reporters. “Trust me, I’m going to keep shooting. ‘Don’t think about it’. I’m trying not to.”
Green has connected on just 31.4 per cent of his attempts from distance during the playoffs, including a four-for-23 performance against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals – a series the Raptors won 4-2.
“I’m not second guessing myself,” Green said. “Whenever I get a look, more so than anything I try to let my defense fuel that side of the floor for me. Be active, try to get in passing lanes, get some rebounds, box out, get into guys and then offensively just run, and hopefully build my rhythm back that way.”
Green averaged 10.3 points during the regular season and knocked down a career-best 45.5 per cent of his shots from three-point range on 5.4 attempts per game.
“We have new life now, we survived that series [against the Bucks],” Green said. “I thank my teammates for helping me survive that series, because if we didn’t I would be getting a lot of criticism, not just from myself.”
He added: “I want to make shots. Trust me, I’m trying. But at the same time, you’ve got to be positive, stick with what you know and be confident in yourself. Confidence goes a long way in this league.”
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry said the team still have faith in Green.
“I don’t think anything that happened the last series matters, besides us finding ways to win games,” Lowry said. “That’s what we take from that series. Danny will be fine. Game 1, he’ll be ready to go.” (Yahoo Sports)
This is the best and rare chance for the raptors to win nba finals in their whole team history. They should do their best so that whatever happen, they don’t regret it. Playing in the finals is very hard to come-by so they should do their best, avoid making too much mistakes, play defense 48 minutes, and execute the play carefully.