Amen Thompson Makes Sincere Steph Curry, Draymond Green Admission

Still, there seems to be some harsh feelings between the two teams, especially with recent comments from Rockets star Alperen Sengun.

It's not all hate between the two sides

While Sengun still seemed bitter about their loss to the Warriors, his co-star, Amen Thompson, had better things to say about the team that took them down.

In a recent appearance on "The Young Man and The Three " podcast, Thompson praised Warriors star Draymond Green and his defense.

"I feel like what makes the best defenders good is their IQ. I'll give Draymond some credit. We played Draymond, and he's not super athletic. Obviously, he's got long arms, but he's not gonna wow you athletically. But he's talking the whole time. And he'll put himself in a position, knowing they're gonna do something, then he'll bounce back to that position and get a steal."

Of course, Green is undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the common era as a one-time Defensive Player of the Year and nine-time All-Defensive Team member. While his offensive game is inconsistent, he always makes up for it with high IQ and a defensive motor.

"I feel like a lot of the best defenders can play offense on defense, you know what I mean?" Thompson said.

Green is an incredible defender, but 22-year-old Amen Thompson is on a similar trajectory. Thompson made the All-Defensive First Team in his sophomore season, and of course, during his first career playoff series, he had to defend none other than the legendary Steph Curry.

Thompson was asked if he took his matchup against Curry personally, like he does as he defends other stars.

"Yeah. Everybody. To me, I'm supposed to be able to keep up with [Curry], I'm supposed to be able to make his life horrible," Thompson said. "I mean, it's Steph. Those are the hard ones. When you play the great players, Steph, he's gonna make shots. [Kevin Durant]'s gonna make shots. You try to make their life as hard as possible... but you have to accept he's gonna hit some long shots."

Thompson will certainly have a long, successful NBA career as an elite defender, and having to guard a superstar like Curry in your first playoff series is not an easy task. Still, he has the right mindset and recognized the things that Green does, which will undoubtedly help him in the long run.