Jeff Green’s long NBA Finals wait is finally, mercifully, almost over.
Sure, it’s been a while since the 14-year veteran last made it this far in the playoffs — 2017-18 with Cleveland — but the past 10 days have also felt like an eternity.
The Nuggets polished off their Western Conference Finals sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers on May 22 and could have finalized a matchup with Miami the next night had the Heat finished off its own sweep of Boston.
Instead, the Celtics ran off three straight wins before falling in Game 7 on Monday night.
The result? Green watched a whole lot of Eastern Conference Finals basketball over the past week-plus.
“I told my wife when Boston won Game 6, it almost felt like – we’d been sitting so long, it almost felt like we weren’t in the playoffs anymore because the only thing we were doing was watching them,” Green said on the eve of Denver’s first Finals game. “But I watched two good teams battle and when they won, it was like, ‘now it’s time to refocus.’ The time off, I think it helped in many ways. It allowed us to regroup, touch up on some things, better ourselves. I enjoyed that series. They showed me some things on both ends.
“I’m looking forward to this matchup.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said Wednesday that the Nuggets started to tilt their preparations toward Miami last week before mixing in some Boston work as the Celtics tried to mount an historic comeback.
“We’ve been sitting for a long time, we’re going to be a little jittery and anxious to play,” Caldwell-Pope added. “Just try to keep them calm. The first couple possessions are going to be a lot, even for myself. I’ll be feeling anxious, even right now.”
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