Draymond Green on Warriors recent losses, Victor Wembanyama's growth, Anthony Davis vs. Sabonis

What's up everybody? Welcome to the Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Make sure you hit that subscribe button. Make sure you like the post that you love, but you can get everything the Draymond Green Show right on our YouTube channel. So make sure you subscribe, check that out. Thank you. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. We have another live stream on the Bleacher Report app. Make sure to subscribe to the Draymond Green YouTube channel. If you haven't already. There were a couple good, great interviews I thought that went out last week. One with the great Isaiah Thomas, Detroit Piston bad boy, 2-time champion, Finals MVP Isaiah "Zeke" Thomas. And one with Paul Pierce, the Truth. Actually one of my favorite episodes. Both of those episodes were actually 2 of my favorites. Zeke—

Yeah.

Obviously having the connection to the state of Michigan and Detroit Pistons and Bad Boys and obviously being backcourt mates with Joe Dumars, who I've shared with you all before, is like a father figure in my life, has been for 15+ years. So there's that. And then Paul Pierce, obviously everyone knows the history of Paul Pierce and myself and— Yeah. The viral clip that went crazy when Paul Pierce was with the Clippers. And we addressed that right off the gate when we got into the interview, which set the stage for an incredible, incredible interview. We talked everything from Paul Pierce being stabbed to Ray Allen, to Doc Rivers and the Milwaukee Bucks and his thoughts on that with Doc being his coach that he won championship with. KG. KG. You name it, we talked everything and it was an absolutely incredible episode. So make sure you all check 'em out. And then lastly, the Twitter giveaway, the YouTube giveaway. Head to my Twitter, reply to the giveaway tweet for your chance to win a signed jersey. There will be a couple of 'em going out. So check that out. First topic, first item of business, dubs 1 and 2 without Steph, losses to the Spurs and Mavericks.

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I know that's probably confusing for some. Like, no, y'all just beat the Spurs. We actually played them 2 games in a row. We played them once at home on Saturday and then in San Antonio on Monday. Uh, the one Saturday, we were awful. We had no energy on the court. Um, we played with no sense of urgency. Excuse me, no sense of urgency. And the Spurs kind of got what they wanted. That was without Wimby, that was without Devin Vassell. But sometimes when you play teams without their best players, that actually makes them a little tougher to play in this league, which is a very weird thing because you just don't know what to expect. And so you don't know what to expect from an offense because obviously when your best player's on the floor, you go to certain things. And then all of a sudden you take your two best players out and you're kind of just random all over the place. And guys who don't normally get the shots are getting the shots and you don't really know how to react to it. And so, needless to say, no excuse. They absolutely destroyed us at home. We actually looked like we didn't belong on the same floor. Coming back in San Antonio on Monday, Victor Wembenyama being back, Devin Vassell being back, we actually won that game pretty handily. Took control, we took control of the game. Chris Paul had 19, 9, and 8. Vintage CP game. Jonathan Kuminga was really good. Klay got it going a bit in that game. And we were in our defense, we were flying around and we were able to take control of that game in the third and not have any issues with that game. And we're gonna talk a little bit about that game in a few. Victor Wembanyama, we must talk about. Very interesting things to say about Victor Wembanyama. And then moving on, we ended up losing to the Mavericks last night. I also didn't play in that game. My back has been bothering me for like 4 or 5 games and I've kind of been going through it, like just playing through it and playing through it. Getting my, like, we have the absolute best training staff in the league. I would put my money on that. Rick and Danny and Yoder. And so, you know, they're doing things to get me back to a good space to go in the game. And then like, you know, third quarter or so, it just locks all the way back up. And you kind of grinding through the rest of the game, just trying to get to the end. Next day, not in a good space. Can't really get on the court even if I want to get some work in. And then kind of getting it back to a good space to go back out there and play. And so the hope is that, and not having a game since Monday for myself, not playing in the Dallas game, that as opposed to getting it back to a place to where it's like, all right, I can get out there now, that those extra couple days will allow it to go away because— Yeah. It's just no fun. Just getting it to a space where I can get in the game and then it locks back up and it's painful. And it's also has been kind of in that same area that I had the issue before. And so the way I view it is like my body keep giving me these warning shots, you know, listen to 'em before. Yeah. Listen to him before you have to listen to him and you can't do nothing. And so that is why I missed last night. And you know, I talked to y'all about the injury before when I was out with the back injury and like I had to relearn how to walk and relearn how to run and relearn how to jump and find my coordination again on the court. I'll never forget first getting back on the court and like running, thinking I can do just a simple jump off my left foot layup. And like, it was so uncoordinated. I didn't know how to do it. I threw the ball off the glass. And that was within 6 weeks, 7 weeks of me getting back on the court. And then we obviously went on to win a championship. And so it's just something that number one, it's a little scary, but number two, don't really wanna mess around with. Back can be dangerous. So my plan and hope is to play Saturday. Obviously hoping that things continue to trend in the right direction. That would be my goal to play Saturday. And we shall see how that goes. Before we continue on, happy birthday to the GOAT, Steph Curry. 36 years old today, Pi Day. For you, it's Pi Day. For me, it's the GOAT day. Steph, my brother, happy birthday, man. It's been a pleasure. This is our 12th birthday. My birthday was last week, his birthday today. 12th birthday spending together. That's— Like, man, we are getting closer to like half our birthdays spending together. And it's such a special thing, man, to have someone like that in my life. I'm very thankful for the example that he set as the man, the example that he set as the basketball player, the example that he set as a brother, as a big brother. Couldn't ask for a better example to have in your life on a daily basis and to follow. Yeah. And so I am honored and thankful for you on your GOAT day, your born day. Happy birthday, Steph. Also saw some news about Steph saying he's running for president. How about that? And I actually think Steph Curry could be the president. And I actually think Steph Curry would be a great president. And the news that you all did not know you needed was Draymond Green will be in the White House. What? In some form or fashion. And none of y'all thought y'all needed that news and you never could have believed it. But I'm telling you, Secretary of Defense, that would be a good title for your boy. So shout out to Steph. Happy birthday, my brother. But getting back into these games, when we beat the Spurs, number one, forget the game. Victor Wembanyama is probably a top 20 player in the NBA right now. Yeah. He is insanely gifted. And watching him play, I personally thought like, man, his handle gonna be loose. Like his handle actually ain't loose. Like he passed the ball and got a great handle on it and it's tight. And shout out to the San Antonio staff 'cause some of our front office, Ryan Atkinson, who's always on the road scouting quite a bit, was saying like, yo, San Antonio has helped him with that. His handle was not that good. Like yes, he could dribble the ball, but they've helped him a lot with his handle. You look at Tim Duncan, you look at the Kawhi Leonards, Tony Parker was not the player that Tony Parker ended up being when Tony Parker arrived in San Antonio. You look at all of those guys, we know that their development staff, Coach Pop, Chip England was there for years doing it, Chip moved on. But we know that their development staff is absolute top of the line. Like listen, I don't care how good of a prospect you are, If you get to the NBA and you don't have a good development staff, you're going to continue to be just that, a good prospect. Now that also requires you to put the work in. What I hear about Victor Wembanyama, my college teammate, my brother, former college roommate, Draymond Green told myself and Travis Walton about Victor Wembanyama 3 years ago before Victor Wembanyama name even started popping up. Draymond Green played with him in France on Tony Parker's team and he's like, man, I got this, 15, 16-year-old on my team. I'm telling y'all, he gonna be the number one pick in a couple years. And I trust Raymar's judgment because Raymar also, long before everybody started talking about Luka Dončić, told us, man, it's this kid over here, Luka Dončić, that play Real Madrid, he 15, 16. He's gonna be a problem in the NBA. And I'm telling y'all, and people gonna say his game ain't gonna translate. And I'm telling y'all, it's going to translate. And so, Those are two guys that Raymar called out to us way before, 'cause Raymar's played EuroLeague and stuff. And he called out those way before they started popping up on radars over here and draft boards and all those things. And so he's not as weak as people may think he is because he's skinny. Although he will need to get stronger and we all know that and he knows that and he will because again, what I heard from Raymar and what I've heard from Arnellin, the kid's a gym rat. Yeah. He's a gym rat. He does everything the right way. He cares about basketball. He wants to be great. With that skill set, with that length, with that jump shot, his jump shot is absolutely beautiful. In San Antonio with that staff, that kid, watch out. And I know I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before. And by the way, this is no stray at all. I think Chet Holmgren is a very good player. And I know there's been this comparison amongst those two. They're both super tall and lanky. They both block shots great. They both can shoot the ball. They both can put it on the floor. Chet Holmgren is going to be a problem. And I've told y'all that on this podcast before, but I will tell you, I think there's a gap. Mm-hmm. In between Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama. I honestly believe that there is a gap. Victor Wembanyama is just different. And Chet's different too, don't get me wrong. But like, there's levels of player in this league. I don't care from the best point guards in the league to the best— there's levels of players. That's just the case. It's always gonna be the case. There's a gap. Victor Wembanyama is so good and he's doing stuff like, all right, I caught it in the post this time. I'm not even gonna go score. I'm gonna go uphill DHO and get this guy involved. You can see the growth in his game from where he was in the beginning of the year to where he is now. A lot less crazy shots he's taking, moving the ball, going DHOs just to get off the ball, then rolling like— Yeah. Has great feel. He catch the ball in the middle of the paint. He always has a chance to get it to the rim and knows where he is at. Kid's special. Absolutely special. And he may be, he may win MVP of the league in like the next 2 years or so. Absolutely incredible player. I also saw that Kendrick Perkins said something about me saying Victor Wimbyama is not the Defensive Player of the Year. And I wanna be certain that Kendrick Perkins, I said win Defensive Player of the Year. Kendrick Perkins said he should get some Defensive Player of the Year votes. I never disagreed that he should get Defensive Player of the Year votes. I just don't think he should win Defensive Player of the Year right now with a 24th ranked defense. I just don't think so. Now his numbers will get better as I said, and he will one day win that award. But you can't be on the 24th best. I don't care when you on the quarter, the defense is the 24th best and that has to matter. And so saw that, respect it. But Victor Wembenyama is a problem. Not telling you anything you don't know, but he keeps getting better. He's gonna keep getting better. And watch out NBA because that kid is different. We've all had a frustrating experience buying tickets, even me. You all know I love to go to concerts, shows, and it can be hard to find last-minute tickets. You shouldn't have to worry when you buy tickets to your next big event. GameTime is the fast and easy way to buy tickets to all the sports, music, comedy, and theater shows near you. I'm looking through the GameTime app right now, and it's really easy to find tickets at different price points. The NBA season is winding down, and we have some huge dubs games we're gonna need your support that. We always talk about strength in numbers and we need y'all to be loud at these games coming down the stretch. Gametime is the only ticketing app that gives you complete peace of mind with your purchase. They have all-in pricing so you know exactly how much you're going to pay. Plus, the Gametime guarantee means you'll always get the best price. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use the code word GREEN for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Create an account and use the code word GREEN, G-R-E-E-N, for $20 off. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Probably gonna have to get some vets in there, but I think with Victor Wembenyama, you like, all of a sudden you were looking to rebuild, you can turn that notch up fast 'cause he's that good. So that was Victor Wembiyama. Dubs have lost 4 of the last 6 after having a strong, very strong February. Man, and honestly it sucks. Obviously we know the race that we're in with the play-in race and kind of right there in that 9th, 10th spot right there with the Lakers, Dallas and San Antonio. I mean, not San Antonio, Sacramento/Phoenix. Has gotten a few games up on us with us dropping 4 of the last 6. I think we still can make a push. I still feel good about our chances. Hopefully get the GOAT back this weekend, Steph, against the Lakers. I am hearing that he's practicing on Friday. That's what I've been told. That's what you all have heard. And hopefully that puts him back on the court on Saturday. I think we can still turn it around. And then the loss yesterday to the Mavs, That Mavericks team look good. I thought they got some good pickups. And obviously you got Kyrie and you got Luka. Kyrie is so good at basketball. And I know a lot of people like to hate Kyrie and the way he lives his life and his views on certain things. Like you can hate on those things all you want, but there's not many people in the NBA— that can score the ball better than Kyrie Irving. And there's not many people in the NBA that a defense is more fearful of and what they need to try to do to stop Kyrie Irving. Because he's a great finisher at all levels. He can shoot the 3 with the best of 'em. His mid-range is right up there with the best of 'em. And he's as good a finisher as there is in the NBA. And that is including Victor Wembanyama. That is including Daniel Gafford, who's made 30. Shots in a row. Kyrie Irving is as good a finisher in the NBA as there is. And the pressure that Kyrie Irving puts on the defense because he can do it at any level with size don't matter. You like, Kyrie Irving is a problem. And it's great to see Ky back out there on the court thriving, doing what he enjoys without all the noise, Without everybody jumping on him about his views on things and just out there playing basketball and being the Kyrie Irving that we've all watched for the last 13 years. Absolutely beautiful. So we got the Dallas team a couple more times. Those will be big games for us. Obviously with what the standings are coming down to, I think we got the Lakers one more time, maybe two, two more games with the Lakers, which those are also big games. You figure those games kind of count as two. Because you lose one, they pick up a win, kind of counts as two games when you're right there in the race. So we need to try to make sure we take care of those games. And moving forward, another play-in situation right there on the brink. Last night, Kings and the Lakers played. I see everybody making such a huge deal outta AD being 0-10 facing Sabonis.

Oh, yeah.

And everybody's like, is that a coincidence? Is that like, do you make anything of that? And it's interesting because the first thing I ever heard, the first time I ever heard of it was like AD being 0 for 9. And then you go into a road game at Sac, you lose the game and everybody's like, oh see, now he's 0 for 10. And it's like, And so I actually view that as one of those coincidence type things. Like, do we really believe that Sabonis is better than AD? Or could he be a tough matchup? Of course. Like, everybody has tough matchups. But you also can't make it just about Sabonis and AD. Because the reality is Sacramento offense does run through Sabonis, but not in a manner of like, I'm busting your ass or you bust— Like it ain't that, like those, it's not like mano a mano like this record is trying to make it out to be. You can't ignore De'Aaron Fox. De'Aaron Fox has been better than any point guard the Lakers have had over the last couple years. There's this thing called addition by subtraction. I don't know if you all remember, but Malik Monk was here with the Lakers, revitalized his career. And played well and then went to Sacramento. So they also plucked one of their guys and they're actually using him and he's playing really well. So I think it's more of a coincidence than like, oh, it's just that thing. Like they're beating them. So that was a big game in the standings as well. It was also great for us that the Lakers lost, kind of keep us right there with the same amount of losses. So it'll be important for us to try to go out here on Saturday and take care of business. The Denver Nuggets are 10-1 since the All-Star break with their only loss coming to the Suns in overtime. They just moved back into the number 1 seed in the West. I think things will stay that way. They are gearing up for the playoffs. They are a championship team and they're figuring out, all right, we've stayed right in the mix all season. Now it's time to turn it up after the break and they're doing that. I think—

Draymond Green.

You know, things gets tougher for the Minnesota Timberwolves with KAT being out. Saw Rudy Gobert went out the other night. I'm not sure how serious that is or how long he'll be out, but I do know KAT had a procedure earlier this week and he'll, on his meniscus, and he'll probably be out at least another 4 weeks. So that makes things tougher. KAT has been really good. He's an all-star for a reason. He's been really good for that Minnesota team. And so I think they'll hit a few bumps with that. It'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out. So I don't think, like I said, it's a who's the biggest challenger or who's not for the Denver Nuggets. I think it's more so who, you know, who like just the matchups you get and how it all plays out and we'll see where it goes from there. But the Nuggets are real and they're playing great and they look like a championship team. Yeah. Before we get outta here, I'm gonna toss it to Jackson for a couple mailbag questions. Jackson, what we got? First one from @JGonzalez. How do you think your game compares to Dennis Rodman's? How does my game compare to Dennis Rodman? I think, I think me and Dennis Rodman have both kind of been a straw that stirs the pot. You know, the game is not so friendly with us out there. The game is intense, hard-nosed. And I think the way Dennis Rodman defended all positions, there are some similarities there. Dennis Rodman was a way far better rebounder than me. Although I think I'm a good rebounder and the game is different now. I spent a lot of time like chasing guys on the perimeter and, doing different things. Like there's more shooting, so you're extended further away from the rim. Needless to say, I've never gotten 30 rebounds or 30 rebounds in several games in a row. Even when the game was a little different. Dennis Rodman is one of the best rebounders we've ever seen. So I don't compare to him there at all. Like I said, I think I'm a good rebounder. So on the defensive end, but then I also think that I do some things offensively that Dennis didn't do. But in saying that, Dennis Rodman is a Hall of Famer and I can only strive to be remembered like the legend Dennis Rodman himself in my career. From @rickyesparza, thoughts on the new look Mavericks team. Do you think that they have enough to contend in the West? Ricky, like I was just saying about the West, I think the West is tough. I think, you know, the matchups, are extremely important with who you match up with. And that's a tough team. Anytime you have a team that has the likes of Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić with a supporting cast, that team can be dangerous. I think, you know, as you get into it, you know, you can find things defensively against them that you could possibly use to your advantage in a playoff series. But anytime you have Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, they have a supporting cast. Now Daniel Gafford is a real player. A lot of people didn't know about him because he was stuck in Washington. Real guy. PJ Washington been stuck in Charlotte playing losing basketball. He's playing good basketball now. That is a wrap for this episode of the Draymond Green Show. Thank all of you tuning in on the Bleacher Report app. If you're not tuning in on the Bleacher Report app live, you can still check this out on YouTube. On our YouTube channel. Go check it out. And we will be back to y'all next week. Until then, it's a wrap. Peace. Peace.