Draymond Green on Klay Thompson’s return in Mavericks-Warriors & Steph Curry's HUGE 4th quarter

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Follow the show on Twitter, that's @DraymondShow, so you don't miss any of our announcements. In today's episode, we'll discuss Klay's return to Golden State, the 4-1 road record, fake handshakes, and which team needs to be in panic mode. Klay returned, you know, it was a big hype around Klay. The Warriors gave everybody in attendance a captain's hat for Klay's return. You know, I think that was a great tribute, a great tribute video, which he well deserved. But y'all got the dub, right? Steph got hot in the fourth. I know you and Klay and like, man, let's kick that off. What was that like?

Man, Steph was on 10 the whole time. And you knew it right away when they tried to post him up. Very first play and he fouled Clay. And that's one of the ones where like he knew it right away that it was a bad foul. He didn't care, he didn't think anything of it. He was so overzealous to get the stop. And so, and so that play, you know, like, all right, it's a little, you know what I'm saying?

Right.

It's a little testy. The very next play they try to run the same play again and my man's in the corner. So I try to bump him out to Najee Marshall like, yo, bump, bump, I'm here. So I can switch and guard the post. He totally ignored me. So I run all the way over there to block Draymond Green.

He didn't get the script. He didn't get the script.

I have to run all the way back to the other side of the paint to guard my man because he won't bump out. And sure enough, you know, he get the next couple stops and he dialed in, man. And I knew, you know, I knew he'd be dialed in. I'm gonna keep it G with you. I watched Klay's interview leading up to it, all of them. I read all the quotes, I watched any interview I could find, and I watched Steph interviews leading up to it. Now mind you, when they asked me the other day at OKC, I totally ignored the question. I'm like, we got an NBA Cup game.

Yeah.

And that's what Thursday is about. I mean, not Thursday, that's what, whatever day of the week it was. Monday.

Monday, Tuesday.

It's the NBA season, it's groundhog day.

The next game.

Absolutely. And so I'm like, that's what it is. And I completely ignored the question. And then I saw Steph's answer, and I saw Klay's answer, and then I saw Steph answer. And it was a little sentimental. And I'm like, All right. And then I see Steph speak on somewhere different and it was a little more sentimental. And I go look at Klay stuff and I'm like, all right. So finally yesterday morning I text Steph and I text him like, hey, listen here, big dog, I need you to be locked in. Whatever it is that you do, whatever it is that you need to do, If that's watch this tribute video.

Mm-hmm.

Before we actually see it go up on the board, whatever it is that you need to do to make sure that your emotions are where they need to be so we dialed in. I said, I'm gonna do the same. And so I hit Draymond Green and I said, "Ray, I need to see that tribute video." And Ray sent it to me and I watched the tribute video and I was like, ah, So I got it out.

Yeah.

And Steph got it. So by the time Steph come in the game last night, he pissed. I didn't call.

Yeah.

Soon as I text him, he called me right away. So I done tried to stir the pot a little bit, baby. I'm stirring the pot.

As you should.

Ain't no, "Oh, my Splash brother." Nah. Yeah. Nah. I'm stirring the pot.

We the ops. We the ops.

Hey, so I pissed Steph off. He like, "Yeah, I talked to Klay last night about," he was like, 'cause Steph was supposed to speak before the game. He like, "Yeah, I called Draymond and told him I'm not speaking. Like, I just need to lock in on the game, so I ain't speaking. And I talked to Klay about it, tried to check in with Klay on something else." Oh, man. And Klay ghosted him. So he got pissed. And here we go. Oh.

Here we go. That's why he was on 10. That's why at the end of the game, ooh. Hey bro, that end of the game, he was, that was almost like the Olympic shot. You feel me?

Man.

Like he was on, even after the game, after y'all shook hands, it was like, what was that feeling like? 'Cause you know, it's so much emotions, bro. That, you know, Klay is, Klay is, is, is, legacy brother, almighty, you know what I mean? Hall of Famer. And that, y'all connection, you know what I mean? That's the first time, you know, we've been able to see the not connection. You know what I mean?

You know what's crazy? Steph said to me right away, he was like, yo, you know, we had Andre when he left and he came back and like, you know, KD's kind of never really materialized. Like it was so many years in between him playing actually coming back and play here from when he left, that it was kind of never really, you know, that. He was like, "But we ain't had nothing like this." Yeah. I'm like, "You right." You know what I'm saying? So that moment, bro, it was such an incredible feeling because we've done special things together, Klay included. Like, there is none of this without Klay. It's crazy 'cause I was talking to Trav last night And Trav was like, "Yo, you and Steph was locked in so crazy." He was like, "But it's nuts because Klay was locked in too." He said, "When I saw how all three of y'all were able to lock in on that game." That's how y'all know how y'all won that championship. He said, "It makes so much sense." He said, "These people had to deal with three of y'all like that?" Yeah, yeah. He said, "It makes so much sense when I watch how all three of y'all was locked in." It's levels to it. Absolutely. And saying that, so knowing that and understanding that, like, the night couldn't have gone better and it couldn't have been a better feeling for us. You know, it's us two still holding it down.

Yeah.

We still holding the fort down.

Oh geez.

Holding the block down. You know what I'm saying? And to know, you know, like, hey, he ain't with us no more. That felt good. And so, like I said, it could not have, the night could not have gone any better. When you talk about NBA script writers, as the people say on Twitter and this and that.

That was perfect setup.

That script, Klay Thompson played great.

Great.

Incredible. And they lost. That's how we needed tonight to go.

That's it. Outside of the script.

When Steph had those moments though, when he like locked into the moment and he be talking his shit.

He gonna start, boop. He gonna start, 'cause Steph came out talking shit. Then Klay hit him with the shimmy. Then Klay caught fire and then you see Steph over there, he hot, you know what I mean? You know, and then I'm, and back to the intensity, like Klay's intensity up Dallas level. I don't even think the Mavericks seen something like that. You know what I mean? And so like watching how you and Steph were on this side, you know, Moodie got off, you know what I mean? Moodie was ballin'. You know, Buddy was ballin'. Everybody—

Melton was ballin'.

Melton was ballin'. Looney played big, you feel what I'm sayin'?

9 offensive rebounds in 13 minutes is crazy.

Come on, dude. Come on, dude. That's the UCLA Bruin right there. And then my dog, my dog, Defensive Player of the Year. We on that track. Let's talk about these stats. 11.7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks. Even Steph, he talked about it after the game. He said, man, you, you put on a masterclass on the defensive end. I, I would agree to that, especially the block on Daniel Gafford that saved the big shot. You know what I mean? He was just, he was just, he was the plug. Yeah. You know what I mean? You was the plug all night. Man, just talk about, I wanna like, what was it? You know what I mean? Like you starting to look, you starting to look and feel young again, bro. What is it?

I feel incredible, bro. I'm in the best shape I've been in in years. I'm as focused as I've been in years. Like I'm so dialed in on these moments, man. Like just enjoying. Just enjoying playing the game, you know what I'm saying? Just enjoying going out there and grinding, knowing that we've been counted out, we the underdogs. Like, it feel good to be the underdog again.

Yeah.

My whole life I was the underdog. Being all this high and mighty shit ain't what I'm accustomed to. Like, I've been an underdog my whole life. And so just being back in that role, like, I feel that. You know what I'm saying? I've been in that space. I feel that, I'm locked in. And you know, I had to have a conversation with myself this summer. Just, you know, last couple years I've been kind of like, ah, you know what I'm saying? Like, I know the commentating stuff is around the corner. Like, you know, I wanna transition into some of that as I'm done.

Yeah.

You know, you start looking at all, and I'm like, man, I start focusing so much on that stuff.

Yep.

To where basketball is kind of almost put on the back burner. I flipped that. You know what I'm saying? Like, and this summer I'm locked in and I'm like, you know what? I don't know if it's 1 year, if it's 2 years, if it's 3 years, if it's 5. Oh man. I don't know, but I actually don't care.

Right.

What I do know is whether it's 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, I will be in tip-top shape for each and every last one of them. And I'm gonna be dialed in on the task at hand and enjoying this game that we've been playing since kids.— But it's opportunity that we wanted since kids.

Yep.

That's where my mind is. And so to be like, I got goals, but I really want that Defensive Player of the Year. You know what I'm saying? Like CP being here last year and having 10 all-defense teams and like 8 first teams. I'm like, dang, man, I still got more to do.

You know what I'm saying?

I still got more to get. And that's how I'm feeling, bro. I'm locked in. And so, you know, to get that block on Gafford in that moment, A, it was literally very reminiscent of Kyrie's drive and Kyrie had to drop off to him last year.

Yeah.

Same exact play. This time it was Luka got to drop off. Come on. Like, but them the plays where down the stretch.

That was game changer.

Steph making them shots. Like, that's what he do. Me making them plays, that's what I should—

Thank you.

Like that, you know, I gotta do my part on that side so that he can do his part on the other side.

Yeah.

And that's where I'm at with it, bro.

Man, you can just tell it's a different mentality, you know what I mean? And then just even talking how we talk every day, it's like you choosing to make that a moment with Klay, Right. That's what you need. You choosing to make that a Boston moment. The OKC moment. Like, it's almost like you re-energizing, you playing like, shit, man, if this my last game, they gonna get Draymond Green. They gonna get the best version of Draymond Green that the league seen. And that is what the team needs, bro. That is like, and the points. You feel what I'm saying? You know how I am about these points. I like the 11, you feel? We gotta get them points too, you feel me? But it was a big—

It's making defenses play me a totally different way.

They are.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

I can tell by the way they guard me, they're accounting for that now. It ain't just like, "Oh, he make it." They're now like, "Oh, he's—" They gotta get there, yeah.

Yeah, so. Because you getting shots in rhythm, and it's in offensive rhythm, it's in offensive flow. You know what I mean? And so them 6 assists, you know what I mean? That's another 12 points, you know, 18 points depending on how many threes. So that's what I'm saying. Like, I like the aggression because now like you a playmaker, dog. Always.

Facts. You know what I mean?

You always been a playmaker. So when you out there, And I see you doing that and looking for your shot and making plays. I'm like, okay, we, we, yeah, we, we gonna have a good night. We in good company.

Yeah, no, for sure. That's, and that's, that's how I feel. That's where we at.

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The courts make you automatically feel like something's different. Like when you walk out there on that court, the court's different, jersey's different, you automatically like, "Oh, something's different." Yeah. So it's like this aura around him, man. This aura in the gym. Soon as we walked in last night, we walked out, I should say, we ran up. Lou said, "Man, this feel like Oracle." I said, "It do feel like Oracle." Like, it's just a different vibe around them NCAA tournament games, bro. Excuse me, NBA Cup.

Yeah, the NBA Cup.

These NBA Cup games, man. And we saw it last year. And like, if you had any doubt that like, oh, the first, you know what I'm saying? The first year it was exciting, but Yeah. It ain't, if you had any doubt, look no further than last night. The Detroit Pistons winning on the last second shot.

Come on, dude. That was wild.

Us having to come back from down 7 with under 4 minutes to go and winning that game in regulation. The Boston Celtics losing to a, a Trae Young-less— List LA Hawks team in Boston.

Right.

Like Portland destroyed, Portland destroyed the Timberwolves, beat them by 14 points. Like these in-season tournament games is different, man.

Yeah, you can't get caught sleeping.

And it's like an NCAA tournament. Not that you one and done, but you feel like that because if you lose, once you lose, it's no longer in your control.

Right.

Right? Now if you can win out, you control everything. But if you lose,—

you're at the mercy of everybody else.

Yeah.

Exactly.

Of the system. And man, and so it's crazy because it started off as like this whole thing of like, yo, we can go win $500,000. And it's crazy, BD, nobody even mentions the money anymore.

Right, right.

It's just all about like, yo, we wanna go win this thing.

Yeah, we want that.

We wanna compete for this thing. Yeah. And I think the NBA has done an incredible job of creating this NBA Cup. And I think as fans, and I, when I say as fans, I am a fan of this game.

For sure.

As fans, we need to embrace this thing for what it is.

Big time.

It is an in-season championship.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's crazy.

Very much so. And by the way, it should be celebrated. Just, it's something, see, it take people a little while to come around. Because it's something so new to you. Like, "Ah, that don't matter." But like the Lakers winning that last year, it should be celebrated. When these, when you watch it, when you look at like basketball, the NBA is a global game. When you look at La Liga and you know, even EuroLeague basketball, all these different cups, they don't, they matter.

They play cards.

You know what I'm saying? That, that stuff matters.

Right.

And, and so, I'm hoping to see this continue to grow with fans, for fans to celebrate this. Is it going to be an NBA championship? No, it'll never be an NBA championship. He's gonna take you the whole season.

But it matter.

But it matters, man.

It matters so much. 'Cause like you think about, you don't get no rewards from training camp. You don't get no rewards from preseason. You don't get no rewards for start of the season. And everybody trying to play to be an All-Star.

Mm-hmm.

You feel what I'm saying? So this kind of changed a lot of the mentality, 'cause now you gotta be team-oriented. You look at a team like Indiana, right?

Yes.

They run, help them have that run in the playoffs. You know what I mean? That confidence. And so for a young team being able to snatch some wins, get a, you know, and maybe even make it to the Cup or to the Final Four, Man, you know how like somebody like a Detroit and a Portland, you never know. They could get, this could, it's tricky times right now. You feel me? Anybody can get hot. I remember when I was playing, like the Houston Rockets won like 23 in a row and nobody was expecting that. But like, dude, if you get, you know, you beat a Timberwolves, you beat a Miami Heat as one of, you know, a Detroit or a Portland, in Portland, you could get hot. You know what I mean? And like, especially for where you guys are right now, you know, it's like this underdog mentality. It's like, man, I want that cup. If it's out there, you feel what I'm saying? If it's out there, bring it on.

It's an opportunity to go get it. You know what I'm saying?

Absolutely.

And that's how guys are looking at it, man. So, and just again, the fan in me,— and just watching these NBA Cup games, I love that how it's at the beginning of the season.

Yep.

I think in January, February or something like that, as this NBA Cup continue to become more and more successful.

Yep.

If they do like a, like an intra-conference cup, you know what I'm saying? So like these Eastern Conference teams are playing in some type of cup, for a few weeks. Western Conference teams playing against each other in some type of cup for a few weeks. Boom, then All-Star break happened. Once you come outta All-Star break, as you and I both know, now the eyes are set on the playoffs.

Oh yeah, yeah.

Those January, February games, you know what I'm saying?

You can fall.

Exactly. And that's a way.

Yep.

You make those games more meaningful. That's a way to—— I wouldn't necessarily say compete because it's just a such different thing, but that's the way—

It's just so many games.

It's competing for the NFL at that time.

Yeah. It's just a lot of games.

Games more meaningful at that time.

Yeah. I think so. You need the NBA Cup, you need the in-season tournament, you need another cup, right? Because it's so many games, like you gotta have different feeling and different emotion to like, up at a level and man, the training camp preseason, first part of the season, like we see a lot of guys getting injured, you know, and it's like the season has been accelerated so fast that when you jump into it, it's like, damn dude, you know, you may not be in the best shape or you not, you like, it take a while to get in basketball, NBA shape, game shape. Mm-hmm. And you gonna have these little knickknacks. And so something like this is just so important for the right team with the right mentality who got nothing to lose coming into the season. You know what I mean?

100%.

And that shit can propel you going into All-Star being like, damn, like all we gotta do is win 20 outta, you know, 20 outta 30 and we in, you know?

Yeah.

And so it makes a big difference. You know, I know y'all had the Mavericks for the NBA Cup game. That was the first one. The Grizzlies are next, you know, followed by the last two teams in the group, the Pelicans who've been injured and the Nuggets. But the Grizzlies up next, obviously is no Ja Morant. You know, they have been balling. Like, what is your take on that? Like what, like how do you adjust Like talk to us about how, how do you like, okay, Draymond Green is out, right? That means nothing, correct?

But it should mean nothing. Don't, but as you know, the only problem with it meaning nothing is we're human beings.

Yes.

And as human beings, we have natural human reactions.

Yep.

And so the natural reaction is Draymond Green's out. You put your guard down.

Yeah, do not do that.

If you stand in the boxing ring and you put your guard down, you get knocked out.

You gonna get hit, yes.

And so this, this Grizzlies team, we played them a couple years ago in the NBA playoffs. In the game, Ja Morant missed, they beat us by 50.

Yeah, they smashed y'all.

They beat us by, they were up 50 points in the second quarter. Like, it wasn't like, Oh, the game got outta hand later.

They were up 50 points in the second quarter.

Yeah, I remember that one. Because you naturally let your guard down. And this is the NBA, man. Santi Aldama is playing great basketball.

Yeah.

Scottie Pippen Jr. is playing great basketball.

He's playing phenomenal basketball.

Jay Huff is playing great basketball, right? Trip just getting back and starting to get his feet underneath him.

Yeah.

You know, like, But these guys are playing great basketball. And so the, the challenge is, A, you naturally let your guard down. Okay, this is in this season NBA Cup game, gotta lock in. You can focus on that, right? You can use that to lock in. The challenge is though, Scottie Pippen Jr.'s been really good. He's gonna be even better because he's gonna be even more free, right? Exactly. Santi Aldama's been really good. He's gonna be even better because he's gonna be more free. And so that 3 that you may be like, ah, let me get this back to 12 and see what 12 could create. Now you just like, it's going up.

You already know. Yeah, it's a different mentality.

Exactly. So you're right. Ja Morant being out means nothing from the standpoint of we still need to come in with the mindset that we know we need to come in with. Regardless of who they got on the floor. Whether Ja's out, Bain's out, Smart's out, whoever's out, our mindset need to be what our mindset has to be. And so it doesn't mean nothing in that sense. But on the flip side, A, number one, I always love playing against Ja. Ja Green, when you play against Ja—

He be tough, he be tough.

He bring out a different level that you have to get to in order to match his intensity level, in order to match the swag that he coming with, he's gonna bring out a different level in the real competitors. And so I love playing Ja. And then also just seeing him get back, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, I watched, we all watched him go through some stuff and I know how it is when you go through stuff and everybody wanna count you out and doubt you.

Yeah.

So also just from on a personal standpoint, just watch him get back, prove everybody wrong. Show everybody why he got the Nike sneakers. Show everybody why, Everyone was the, he was the most exciting young guard that everybody was looking forward to a couple years ago.

He's that guy.

You know what I'm saying? Like, and so you also just want to see that from that aspect. And then playing great games, man. Like you wanna play teams at full strength because as a competitor, you want to compete at the highest level that you can compete at.

Totally.

And so that's kind of where we at with it, you know? But in saying that, who they put on the court is who we got to beat.

You got it, yeah. You gotta be ready. 'Cause them young boys, they like to eat. You know what I mean? They like to eat. They don't care who on the floor. I like 'em. I think they well coached, you know, and they got a hell of a lot of talent, you know, and surprise talent to a lot of people. But you know, they got, when you in the league, bro, you just need a chance. You know what I mean? Sometimes you just need a chance. You know what I'm saying? In the right situation. In the right situation. That could turn your whole career around.

100%.

Oh yeah.

And speaking of it, Jah, who was the guy, like when you were coming through, that most reminded you of Jah?

I say Jah is a combination of Allen Iverson and Vince Carter. You feel what I'm saying?

Ah, VC is crazy.

Yeah. Yeah, just like— What's true. Like, you know, if Allen Iverson jumped like Ja Morant, dog, that'd have been crazy. You know what I mean? Allen Iverson was the dude, when you knew you was playing him, it was no matter where you were in Philly, Charlotte, Cleveland, the gym is hot. You know, like when it feel like the fog and all that, man, that's how Allen Iverson, you know, that's the type of energy that he brought. You know what I mean? The intensity, you know, he never talked shit. You know what I mean? He talked, you know, but he never talked shit. He never talked shit to nobody, disrespected nobody. He was just all about his team or, you know, on the ref. So, you know, it was just like, when I knew I was playing against Iverson, it was like, man, fuck that. You know what I mean? I'm like, I gotta get mine off too. It ain't it. You feel me? Like him, Mulberry was like that, you know, 'cause coming into the league, it's like, all right, you gotta play defense and you gotta pass the ball as a point guard. And they just, man, they just running up to score. You know what I mean? So it was like Iverson, Mulberry was a lot like that. And then I say Steve Nash, like Steve Nash had a certain type of swag and type of energy. But the dude you couldn't sleep on was Tony Parker.

Oh.

'Cause he was gonna bust your ass regardless. Hey bro, he was going. Tony Parker, people don't give him enough credit. Hey bro, he kills everybody. He done killed everybody. It ain't nobody that can look at Tony Parker and say, "Hey bro, I ate you up." You know what I mean? Or like, you know, "I destroyed you." Nah, Tony Parker, no way, baby. He want all fades. Tony Parker was probably one of the most, to me, one of the most underrated point guards of all time.

Tony Parker was nice. I actually got the chance to play against Tony when he was still moving. You know what I'm saying? Tony Parker come downhill at you.

Hey bro, he gettin' laid up.

You crushed. He moving fast as hell. Then he hit you with that spin and still on balance, still going towards the rim. You dead.

Bro, I watched Tony Parker film. All summer when he led the league in points in the paint. I was like, how the fuck is he doing this, dog? Like, how is he getting to the front of the rim? He getting layups.

Hey BD, he leading the league in points to the paint. Help these people understand. This is at the time where the NBA got real big.

Yeah.

This is Shaquille O'Neal. This is Shaquille Wallace.

Like, shit.

Bill Wallace.

Yeah, you had to have a big dude. Jamal McGloore. You know what I mean? And dudes that will hurt you. You know what I mean? Like, you ain't going, like, I wasn't going in the paint trying to just dunk on people. You know what I mean? I don't know how Tony Parker, Tony Parker and what's his name, Tariq Evans. I never knew. I would watch them and be like, damn dude, how are they getting to the front of the rim so easy? It's nuts. It was crazy.

Yeah.

So shout out to Tony Parker. He like that, he got that type of intensity, that, you know what I mean? It's the same type of shit I got. And it's like this chip on, it's like a killer chip on your shoulder where it's like, bro, if you don't knock that chip off his shoulder, he gonna keep punching on you.

Yeah, yes sir. Shout out to TP, man. One of the GOATs. This episode is sponsored by Gametime Ticketing app. The start of the NBA season is underway and you don't wanna miss the hype atmosphere watching a basketball game live.

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Let's get into this, this 4-1 road trip y'all just finished. That was a good one. Big win in OKC. I don't like to say which win was the best, but which win was like, which one was like, ooh, you know, we got this one?

Boston.

Absolutely.

It has to be Boston because You know, you, you, you, we beat them in a championship on that floor. When you walk into these arenas that you won a championship at, you automatically go back to that vibe. Oh man, it's this place. Like, ah, I feel good in this place. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

So going into that place, you know, they playing, they're playing great. You know, one loss, they got us coming in. You know, and it's, it's the, the setup is there.

That's cracking.

You know what I'm saying? And we start the road trip off 2-0 and then headed into Boston. Everybody like, oh, they start the road trip off 2-0, but now the road trip get tough. And then we go in there and like, we pretty much controlled that game the whole game.

The whole game.

You know, and to go in there and do that, and obviously they're without JB, you know, and, and KP. But you can only play who they put on the floor. Yeah, for real. And so to go in and send that message, like we still here. And I'm gonna tell you, it's even a little more emphasis on it, and here's why. Last year we did the whole shooting thing with Draymond Green, and I felt like we kind of let the wrath off of them. Like we, I feel like we propelled them a bit when we did that. The confidence of that team after that just went through the roof. You know, and so to then come back and go back in that place that we did that and lock up like we did and play the game we did.

Yeah.

That made that one feel like it was the one, you know? And then going to Boston.

And that's the one to get. You know what I mean? It's like you looking at 5 games, you're like, damn, dude, that Boston game, if we can be 2-0 going into Boston, Ooh, we got a chance. We got a chance. Right, and the way y'all came out, the way y'all came out, it was like, y'all just been focused, man. Y'all just been so focused. You know what I mean? Like the Boston game was great. There was a moment where, you know, Kerr and Steph kind of got into it.

Yeah.

You know what I mean? Like we starting to see, you know, kind of like the nostalgia I wouldn't say I didn't care in the past, but it was like, it was so much other shit that now like the intensity is on the game. Talk about like that moment with Steph and Kerr and like how, you know, when shit like that happened, like how do you guys, or for the fans, like talk about reacting, you know, the reaction to that.

So for us, I always, you know, like I pay attention to all that stuff. And so for us, when I saw it, I just go to Steph and reassure him like, "Yeah, we good. Like, fuck that. Like, let's move on." Like, just to make sure his head stay in the right place. You know what I'm saying?

Mm-hmm.

'Cause people respond to things differently. You know what I'm saying? And you never know what response you're gonna get. And so I immediately go to him like, "Man, fuck that. We good. Like, let's keep it pushing." And now, Again, and I always try to tell guys, when you are one of the top dogs on the team, the job goes far beyond just going out there and playing a good basketball game. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's so, as you know, there's so many more things that you have to deal with.

Yep.

You know, when you going through this stuff. And so I'm immediately watching that and I see it and I'm watching Steph's reaction and how he respond to it. Because if he respond negatively, and when I say negatively, I don't mean arguing, I don't, I mean respond negatively.

His attitude.

Like his play, you know what I'm saying? His demeanor. If he responds negatively, I'm already, I've already told myself like, I need to go talk to coach and make sure coach understand the reaction. You know what I'm saying? To make sure coach understand, hey, Steph ain't respond great to you yelling at him like that. Yeah. Let's just keep an eye on that. So I'm, that's already my mindset because again, you have to keep an eye on all of these things. You have to know what make your guys tick and what makes, and what makes them not, you know what I'm saying? And so I'm watching that like a hawk. In turn, I'm then watching the post-game press conferences and Steph like, nah, I wanna be coached like everybody else. That statement lines up with the way you continue to play after after you and Steve had your moment. So cool. I wash my hands and I'm on to the next thing, you know? But it's those types of things.

Yep.

That when you trying to compete at a high level, when you trying to win championships, it's those types of things you can let slide by and you look up later on down the road and you like, man, where did I— You have some problems. Like where did we go wrong? And you don't pay attention to those types of moments. You know what I'm saying?

And so—

Right. I pay attention to all of that little stuff because when you trying to do something special, those little things add up.

It's the little things that matter.

You know what I'm saying? And so—

Yep.

That moment was huge because what it also did was, and no one has a problem with that on this team, but again, when you see Steph Curry get cussed out like that, And he just like, "Man, like." Yeah. Like, but no real reaction. Just like, like, and then Steve come at you, you gotta shut the hell up.

For sure.

Like you have no choice but to shut the hell up. And it sends a message to everyone. And more importantly, who else it sends a message to, which I think is even more important than it sending a message to players. It sends a message to the rest of the coaches. Coach. Coach.

Yep. Get it up. Get your coaching up.

Like Stack, hey man, I'm telling you, man. Stackhouse to this.

Hey man, y'all got Stackhouse Stouts over there. He an offensive mastermind. Hey bro, y'all got some dogs over there.

Well, with the additions that they've made this coaching staff, Stouts, Stotts, like you said, he's an offensive mastermind and it's his offense. As you know, I live on that defensive side of the ball and what Stack has done with his defense.

Oh man, it's been crazy.

Hey, and what he has done with his defense make me say that ain't Draymond Green's defense. That's Stack's defense. And I'm gonna be a part of Stack's defense.

Yeah.

What he has done there, the point of emphasis he's put on that side of the floor, the mentality, that he's made us have on that side of the floor. What he come, he come every day locked in and he like, "Oh, we watched the field." Steph said something yesterday, he was like, "Oh Stack, you know, well right there I was thinking this, so I had to do this." Stack was like, "Oh, tell me. Next time tell me that 'cause I definitely dinged your ass on them grades for that. I dinged you." Yeah. So next time make sure you just share that with me that that's what you was thinking and that's what happened because I for sure dinged your ass." And Steph was like, "Yeah, I saw it." I got this time on my sheet, like.

I love that, dude.

But it's just a different accountability level. Like, man, I get them grades, we get a notification, we work on this app with our team and we get these notification grades out, man. As soon as I get that notification, I need to see my grade. And last night my grade was high as hell, huh?

It had to be.

I think I need to go back and check the grades, but I'm almost certain it was the highest grade of any one of the owners.

Come on, hey Stack, I need to get one of these grade sheets. Add me to the list, Stack. Put me on the text notification. I need to see that. It is so great to hear, I mean, you see the results, but when you buy in to a defensive philosophy and you got a coach that's back there engineering it, and then also you got a Draymond Green.

Yeah.

Like that, we live on goals. You know what I mean? Like we live on success. We are fighting and chasing perfection every time we come on that court. And so to have that accountability, that structure, but also that trust, right?

Mm-hmm.

You know, like you were saying with Steph and wanting to be coach and coaches wanting to coach is really, you know, it's that trust, right? It's being able to nip all the little things that could be deterrents, right? And though every time it's nipped or every time it's fixed and solved, it builds greater trust. You know what I mean?

For sure.

And that's, you know, that's why I like on the defensive end, like you guys are gritty, you smart, you know, and you're not worried about if there is a misassignment, like who did something, you know what I mean? Like a lot of times like, oh shit, damn, I'm switched out. Out on the wrong person. Y'all don't look at it like that. Everybody takes the challenge. Everybody has support. And that's what you need, you know, to really be a winning team.

Oh, 100%.

'Cause like the deflections, like y'all not tall, y'all not super athletic. You know what I mean? It's like the deflections, the, you know, the over the back calls from boxing out, right? Just all the little things that, the block shots, right? The steals, all those things measure up, right? And if those are held at high esteem, I remember it used to be deflections, or for me, like when I led the league in steals, my coach told me how, taught me how to do it. He said, just pick the dude up like right before half court. Soon as they get to half court, jump they ass, 'cause they can't go back. Yeah. So I was getting all kind of turnovers and steals. 'Cause as soon as somebody come across half court, first thing they do, they relax, get ready to call a play. And then I was on 'em, you know what I mean? And so like them little goals or like them little bitty things getting fixed, like that creates that trust. You know what I mean? Talk about y'all trust, you know, when y'all out there.

I think the trust is coming from,— you know, the coaching staff is being willing to earn that trust. You know what I'm saying? They ain't walking in like, "All right, we the coaches and y'all do X." Yeah. You know what I'm saying? They walking in trying to earn that trust. Like, you know what I'm saying? Stack, again, I keep going back to Stack in the defense. Every time, something start going wrong and we like, "Yo, we need to get out this cover stack. Like, this is what we doing. This is who we are. Do this." And so you stand on something like that, everyone else has no choice but to believe and trust in you.

That's right.

Because you standing on it so tough. You know what I'm saying? And like, I think Stack's also doing a good job of like standing so tough on it initially, but now starting to be like, "All right, cool. Y'all seeing this change? Well, let's change this. Let's tweak this thing." You know what I'm saying? Whereas initially he like, "Nah, this is what we doing." And, and just do it. And I actually like that mentality because what it showed is like, I believe in this.

Yeah.

I think this is what's gonna give us the best chance to win. So let's try to be great at this thing. Now we can start to make adjustments, right? You like 11 games into the season, you're starting to figure out and build an identity. You can start to adjust some things when you need to, when you see fit.

Totally.

But first, you have to build a base. And I think, you know, the coaching staff has been willing to build that base.

Yeah.

And in turn, when you see guys who've been through it, who know what it looks like, trusting in it and doing all of that, it creates for a different opportunity and for a different situation. And I feel like that's where we at right now. TNT Sports on truTV is here, and it's bringing you action from some of your favorite leagues, including live games and events from NHL, MLB, US soccer, and more. There's also a new slate of original shows and podcasts, like "The Steam Room with EJ and Chuck" and "Above the Fold" with Jemele Hill. TNT Sports is taking over primetime, making it your new destination for sports moments. Watch every night starting at 6:00 PM Eastern on TruTV. Man, let's move around the league a little bit, BD. As of Wednesday, Cleveland Cavaliers are the only undefeated team in the league after playing against them this past Friday. I personally believe that they have a chance to, get to the conference finals in the East.

Okay.

If you can get past Boston, that's on you, right? Like, get yourself a shot.

Boston is still your front runner out the East, huh?

Absolutely. No question. But I think these Cleveland Cavaliers are serious, and I'm gonna tell you why I think they serious. That ball humming so crazy, BD, my head was on goddamn spinning. They was moving that ball so fast. I was like, whoa, whoa. Oh man. Oh, I went to hell. Oh, this dude just replaced 3. Like he just like, I'm like, he relocate. Oh my God. Like they moving the ball so crazy. They got bigs.

Yep.

Which in turn allows their guards who's smaller to just funnel you to their bigs, right?

Yep.

So like Donovan Mitchell, not a great defender. DG, not a great defender. But if I can funnel you to Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. Oh, come on. All I gotta do is not be a screen magnet and chase over the screen and force you to drive. Right? Makes a difference. Kendi Atkinson, what he's brought to that team, the mindset that he's brought to that team, you see it in Darius Garland. Darius Garland is playing at an all-star level.

Thank you.

An NBA starter all-star level.

Yep. Right? Mm-hmm.

Again, that's, you see that in Kenny. Evan Mobley.

Crazy.

The, the way Evan Mobley is playing is what you thought Evan Mobley would be coming outta college. He has not been that. He's shown you he's worthy of being viewed as possible to, to become that. He's now becoming it.

Yep.

And, and man, that them boys playing some basketball. You got Okoro hitting shots now. If Okoro is the only guy you can help off of and he hitting shots.

You done.

Good riddance.

You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

I'm sorry, I think this team, they got something there. And Struce ain't playing. They got depth, right? Like Taj Jerome balling off the bench. George Niang, we know he shoots that thing. You know what I'm saying? Like they got Caris LeVert coming off the bench. Max Struce is out. Like they got depth. I'm telling you, man, I like that team. I like that team.

I like the fact that they have energy. You know what I mean? Before when they played, it was like depending on Donovan Mitchell energy or depending on Darius energy and there was no connective energy. These dudes got, they are like connected tissue out there.

Mm-hmm.

You know what I mean? Evan Mobley, you know, I say glue, right? Like a super glue. Like he's starting to become like their super glue guy. Obviously Allen, you know, he's super talented and, you know, just defensively smart. You know what I mean?

Mm-hmm.

And then the way that, the way Darius Garland is playing, in complement with Donovan Mitchell.

Yes.

In complement, you know, with Nyang and the other dudes. Like they're playing both like lead guards.

Yes.

And they're taking the challenge to be that. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

Together as opposed to like, oh, I got it this game, I got it this game.

Exactly.

Oh, he's going that. Like they are figuring this, figuring it out together, which is very critical. You know what I mean? For them to be, to get to that next level. And to your point, when I saw the game against you guys, I was like, all right, well, you know, this ain't really a real testament, you know what I mean? To what the score was. But these dudes are really good.

You know what I mean? They are really good.

Yeah. So in a real game, it's gonna be a really good game. 'Cause they got so many offensive weapons. They got breakdown players, they got shooters, you know, they got guys who can play iso one-on-one. And so I think they are, they're dangerous because outside of a lot of teams, they have more guys who can, if they have the ball with 5 seconds and they got the ball in their hand, they can get they shot off.

Absolutely.

Like when you look at a lot of different teams, you know, you go through New York, you go through Philly, you go even Boston, right? You know, Like you can't throw the ball to anybody on Boston and expect him to get a shot with 5 seconds. It's going back to Jaylen Brown, it's going back to Tatum. But these dudes, they got a few dudes who can wiggle and get their own money.

And it changes things. It changes your defensive game plan when you got that many guys that can get to it.

You don't think Philly can beat it?

Philly, it's over for Philly. It's over for Philly. It's over for Philly before it even starts. And by the way, when you have the amount of talent that Philly has, you can always put some stuff together. But when the public take over the narrative of your team, it's hard.

It's super hard.

It's hard because now, it ain't just about the game. Now you dealing with all of these other things that—

You depressed. It's a depressed energy.

Yeah. Absolutely. They in a tough spot, man. They in a tough spot because now everything Joel do, everything he say is gonna be picked apart. Like, and it just makes everything that much tougher. So now you, so then you ask yourself the question, None of those guys, and I repeat, none of them except Kyle Lowry has ever done it. Yeah. And so if you've never done it and you gotta deal with these things to try to do it.

Yeah.

It's one thing if, if you won a championship and you know like, all right, we won a championship and because we've won a championship, because we've won a championship, we now know that this is coming with it because of that, right? Like, but they gotta deal with stuff that, and they ain't won no championship.

Right.

So you don't know how to win a championship and now you gotta deal with all the extracurriculars and extra things that ends up coming with a team in the spotlight that's won a championship and y'all don't even know how to do it. And you gotta do it with that weight on your shoulder. Man, that's hard, man. It's hard to do when you know how to do it. Right.

You know what they are?

It's hard to do when you know how to do it.

They are the Desperate Housewives of basketball. They got so much drama going on. It's like, goddamn, you got, you know, and then you look at, you know, you look at Kyle Lowry, he did it. You know what I mean? He trying to bring a championship pedigree. He probably, you know, older. They got young guards. These dudes are way different than how Kyle Lowry came into the league. The dues he had to pay, you know what I mean? To even be a brand. And to have a name, you know? And so they gotta, you know, you look at Tyrese Maxey, he's out, but he's like, to me, he could be a superstar. Paul George in and out, hurt.

Mm-hmm.

Embiid in and out, hurt. They got so many injuries. But to your point, it ain't even that, 'cause they could just be off to a slow start. It's the energy of the media, of what's going on with Joel, of, you know, I don't play back-to-backs. Oh, I'm just trolling. All that shit is just unfocused energy.

Mm-hmm.

They have the most unfocused energy and I would say stat, like cloud around them, right? To where it's like, okay, we gonna turn the Philadelphia 76ers into this year's Desperate Housewives. This is where all the drama is gonna exist. We don't know what's going on. You know what I mean? And so like, we not talking, we not talking about Philly about hooping.

Yeah. Right now. True.

You feel what I'm saying? There's nothing coming outta Philly about hoop.

And by the way, I'm gonna tell you something about that, B. That's a great point you make. I went through that last year.

Yep.

Where nothing about me—

Oh, you know.

And became this team was about basketball. It was about all the other shit. It's impossible to win that way.

It is.

It is impossible.

It's a depression. You know what I mean? 'Cause you know, like I'm watching y'all last year and I'm watching you last year and it's like, Y'all trying to get out of a funk, but your frustration, anytime you get to the cusp of doing something, like, "Ah, shit, I ain't got triggered." You know what I mean? And it's like, that ain't even you. You know what I mean? The cloud, it's the cloud.

Right.

You know what I mean? It's those little whispers, those secrets. The same thing you said was when Kurt say something to Steph or somebody rolling their eyes. Nobody's picking up on that because that cloud is hanging. So they can't huddle and be like, come on guys, like forget what everybody else is saying. This is about us. Let's be as real and as honest as we can so we can go be the best on the court. You know what I mean?

Yeah, 100%.

But they don't have a message. They don't have a message. They don't have a slogan. Like what the hell is the, like what's the theme for the season with Philly? You know what I mean?

We don't know. That's a fact. So, so you're saying Philly need to press the panic button, correct?

Absolutely.

New York Knicks, do they need to press the panic button or would they be fine?

They gonna be fine.

Okay.

And you know the Knicks is my squad, bro. You know the Knicks is my squad.

Absolutely. Okay.

I think the problem with the Knicks, here's my issue with the Knicks. You went out and got Karl-Anthony Towns, right? It's a difference, non-difference in Julius Randle. You figured out a, you figured out the best way you played Thibodeau basketball was without Julius Randle.

Yeah. Yeah.

One dude.

Who has not been good in Minnesota, by the way.

Yeah. Who's been trying to figure his space out. So I want people to know, like, Karl-Anthony Towns coming to New York does not guarantee anything. Julius Randle going to Minnesota does not guarantee anything. These men have to move their families, move into the city, just like you said, do all this media and then figure out like, yo, where— wait, what happened to me? And then not only that, who am I? Who am I on this team? How do I fit into the offense, the defense? Like, you gotta— like, it's gonna be a learning process for New York and Cat. You gonna have some high moments, some low moments. But I think he has to adjust and Thibodeau gotta adjust into figuring out like the Julius Randle shit didn't work.

Yeah.

That's why y'all got rid of him. So if you got Carl, uh, uh, KAT over here, like you gotta figure out how to play scrappy, play fast, and best mobilize KAT. 'Cause he a, he a better weapon for you than Julius Randle if you use him right.

100%. Well, I think it's even less about Julius Randle though and more about other guys. Obviously Mitchell Robinson's out.

He's out.

They lost Hardenstein. Hardenstein is with Oklahoma City. Neither one of those guys can walk on the same pavement that Cat can walk on as a basketball player. I get that. But fit is everything. And what someone brings to a team is everything. And where the Knicks is going to struggle more, I think, with KAT than say last year, hey, they snuck up on people last year.

Nobody thought they was gonna— Yeah, so—

Now you're expected to be good. That's a different thing. But also where I think with KAT, you're worse defensively for sure. You know, and— Yeah. Jalen Brunson isn't a great defender, you know? So now what ends up happening is it's not so much that, it's not so much that it's like, oh, well, Cat isn't as good of a defender as Hardenstein or as Mitchell Robinson. We get that, but it'll be fine. It's not totally and solely that more so than you had one non-defender on the court.

Mm-hmm.

Out of 5. Now you got 2 non-defenders out of 5. You know what I'm saying? And when you start adding, when you, I wouldn't even say adding, when you start compiling—

Yep.

Non-defenders into one lineup.

Yep.

It makes a difference. It makes a huge difference. When you gotta hide one guy, it's doable. When you gotta hide 2 guys and 3 guys.

And they're your best play and they're your best players.

Exactly. It's impossible.

Yeah. It's a, there's a big difference.

I think that that's where the biggest struggle will be for this New York team.

Yeah.

Is it's going to require, um, OG.

Mm-hmm. Mikel. Yep.

And Josh Hart. It's gonna require them to be so good and fly around so much and try to cover so many things defensively. Offensively, that then you also then have to, once they have to do that, you then have to make sure that Jalen and KAT's attitude towards the defensive end.

Yeah, they gotta accept, they gotta take that challenge, bro.

And not only do they have to take the challenge, but their attitude towards it can't be like, ah, whatever on that end. Because if it is that way, the guys, that are doing all of the work on that side of the ball gonna be like, man, fuck this guy. Like, he don't wanna give me nothing on this. Like, and then you start to have these clashes and stuff. And so those are all just the little games within the game that people don't understand that you must know all of those things make a difference.

All right, Draymond Green, you know, I gotta come with a little, you know, social media. What's trending in social media? You know, Jalen Brown called Giannis a child after Sunday after the Bucks-Celtics game. Basically Giannis elbow Jalen, I don't know if you saw it, in the face. And then Giannis fake the handshake.

Giannis a big-ass kid for real, man. I'm not saying it. I mean, just by, like, when you look at that, when you look at the video of Damian Lillard giving them the shoes, like, most people that are with Nike would be like, ah, I ain't getting into that. Like, he's a signature athlete with Nike. Free shoes is free shoes.

Like, he's having the best time, dude.

And I say that, I But I don't say that in a way like, like Jalen was pissed, you all right?

Yeah.

So he calling him a child, like man, like I say that in a way of like, like Bron, for instance, Bron is a big-ass kid. Like, and people don't realize he's a big-ass kid. Giannis to me, you know, he always give you this super serious and like, "Argh." But like, to me it seemed like he is a big-ass kid.

Yep.

And honestly, when you are that type of force, you kind of need some of that for guys to be cool following you. Because they need something to relate to. You know what I'm saying? And so that was my takeaway from it. I thought it was wild to hit him with the—

Hey, bro, that was, oh my God.

But—

To me, it seemed like a joke.

I didn't take it as like, but he just cracked you.

Like, dog, what if he cracked you in the face with the elbow and he was like, "All right, it's cool, Draymond." Nah, it ain't cool. Oh, you would've been hot. Hey, dog, hey, dog, you would've been hot.

Yeah, I would've. I also get my elbows back.

You would've definitely elbowed him and did the same thing Help him up off the ground and do the same. Come on, man. It's fun though. I like this era, bro, 'cause I like what, you know, like this era is like, they hella playful. You know what I mean? Like, but it's also like some seriousness to it and it can start rivalries and beefs.

Yeah.

The littlest thing. You know what I mean? Like Jalen Brown wasn't playing. But Giannis wasn't playing, but Giannis don't care. You know what I mean? 'Cause they compete and they don't like each other. So it should just raise the intensity level, right? That's a fact. You hearing dudes talk smack over Twitter and social media and in interviews. I like the podcast 'cause people be, they be getting shit off they chest, but it also be setting them up for like, okay, you gonna have to see that dude again.

You damn right.

What is it gonna be? You feel what I'm saying? Man, shout out to Giannis. You know, I love Giannis, man. He's one of my son's favorite players. And he is like the nicest dude in the world. You know what I mean? He's like one of the nicest dudes in the world. But he is a— I like it 'cause it's like, man, I elbowed you and I'm about to leave you hanging. So my teammates know, like, it ain't good. Like, I'm sorry, but I ain't sorry.

But I ain't sorry. Like, I ain't trying to take you out, but I ain't really sorry, bro. Bro, we really not cool.

Yeah, it's like, are you okay? All right, cool. You straight? All right, cool.

Oh, bro. No, I rock with it, man. Like I said, I rock Giannis' personality. I think it's great that he shows his personality. That's a part of becoming a superstar, which was one of my points about Shea Gills to Alexander. You have to give people something else other than just being a great basketball player. That they can connect to. And that is how you move in the Superstar.

That's how you move the needle.

Shout out to Giannis, man. He better figure it out over there 'cause his coach about to be fired.

Draymond Green, he coming for you, Giannis.

He about to be on his second coach in a matter of 6 months if they don't figure it out fast.

Don't buy insurance from Doc Rivers, bro.

They better figure it out fast 'cause I tell you what, if they don't win some games here soon, they will be paying 3 coaches, 4, because they still paying Bud.

Yeah.

They still paying, uh, Draymond Green. Uh, Adrian Griffin. Doc. And soon they'll be still paying Doc and paying somebody else if they don't figure it out fast.

They should just bring me in there to just sit down and monitor and be like, ah man, this shit ain't gonna work. Ah, that ain't gonna work. Ah, let me talk to the guys. Like, come on, dude. You got players like that. And you trying to coach him? And what I mean, Dray, you know what I mean. Like, you, you, coaching is putting your best players in a position to be the best players. And everyone else who has a superpower to be in a position to be a superstar and realize and maximize their superpowers.

100%.

It's not about, you're coaching. And that's what Milwaukee is going through. They just going through an identity crisis. It's like, I can't, I don't know how to be Giannis, I don't know how to be Dame, and I damn sure don't know how to be a Milwaukee Buck right now.

That's a fact. That is a fact, my brother. That is a wrap from this episode of the Draymond Green Show with my dog, BD, we appreciate y'all. Make sure you check this out. Subscribe where you get your podcast. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. We appreciate you. We love you. Till next time, that's a wrap. The Draymond Green Show.

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