Draymond Green Says Warriors Want to Beat Thunder 'Really Bad' for Kevin Durant

Thursday will mark Kevin Durant's first game against the Oklahoma City Thunder as a member of the Golden State Warriors, a point not lost on the former NBA MVP's new teammates. 

Per Monte Poole of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Draymond Green explained why the Warriors will have Durant's back in what is sure to be an emotional game:

"

I think it’ll be a lot of emotions. They’re going to want to beat him really bad. He’s going to want to beat them really bad. In turn, we’re going to want to beat them really bad because we want him to beat them really bad.

It’ll be a lot of emotions, but it’ll be a fun game to play in. It’s always a high-intensity game against them and I expect nothing less.

"

Athletes typically like to treat each game the same way. They have built-in routines that get them prepared, so when the action starts, they are ready to go.

However, after Tuesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Durant said his emotions will not be the same as they are for any other game Thursday.

"It’s just the way it is," he said, per Poole. "I’ve got a job to do. At the end of the day, I’m going to go out there and do it. But it’ll be good to see some people I haven’t seen in a while."

Speaking to Anthony Slater of the Bay Area News Group on Tuesday, Durant addressed his relationship with Russell Westbrook:

"

Me and Russell grew up together. I was in the phase of finding out who I was outside of basketball. He already knew who he was. He already had a stable life. He had stable parents, a girlfriend through college. I didn’t have none of that stuff. I’m trying to find out who I am, which I didn’t know, which is not a bad thing. He knew who he was. So obviously we’re going to grow toward this way (splits arms). It’s not a bad thing. It’s not at all. We still hung out. We’re boys. My interest went this way, his went that way.

"

Westbrook has not publicly reciprocated Durant's view of their relationship, however. For instance, Durant said at a Stanford Graduate School of Business ceremony he felt "really grateful to play for a team like that and play with a bunch of players who are selfless and enjoy the game in its purest form," per Slater.

Westbrook responded to his former teammate with a heavy dose of sarcasm, per Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript:

Once Durant announced he was signing with the Warriors on July 4, his first matchup with the Thunder became the must-see game of the NBA's regular season.

It will likely have all of the intensity of a playoff game that both teams want to win. There is still a long way to go this season, with a future playoff showdown being a possibility down the road, but nothing will top the first game between Durant's Warriors and Westbrook's Thunder in the early portion of the campaign.