Draymond on Steph Curry & Jimmy Butler SCORCHING Grizzlies in NBA Play-In, Rockets-Warriors PREVIEW

we in and we know what it takes. We got the experience and it's right there for us. So once upon a time there was a 7th seed. To be continued. [MUSIC] What up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show with my brother Baron Davis. How you feeling, big dog?

Feeling good, man. I'm feeling good. It's playoff time.

Yes it is, bro. Yes it is. I can't wait. Before we get into the playoffs though, Bro, I went to see "The Sinner" last night. Ryan Coogler's new movie.

Ah, tell me about it.

I'm still sitting here trying to process how his mind was able to visualize and then actually take a pen and put to paper.

Crazy.

Writing this film, writing this script. And then for him to step back and say, "I'm gonna be the director of this film." And so, Direct, you're casting, you're, you know, you're doing everything. You're putting everything in place as the director of this film. And then he produced the film, him and his wife, Zinzi. Mm-hmm. And I'm just trying to figure out how this brother from Oakland, from the town, can take his mind to that place and deliver That film that I watched yesterday, he's had some of the most incredible work we've seen.

Yep.

Fruitvale Station, Black Panther, you name it. Yep.

Sinners. It's crazy.

Gotta be his best work ever.

Okay.

But that movie is so incredible. It's so many different messages. And it's like set back in the 1930s.

Yeah, that's the time, that's the era.

But the things that they talking about in the film is like things of today, but it's set in the '30s.

Mm-hmm.

It's, man, it's—

Powerful.

Wow. And there's so many different messages within the movie. Like, I'm actually excited to see it again when it releases, I'm gonna go see it. I know that there are some messages I missed. Like, there's so many different messages in the movie. But shout out to Ryan Coogler. Wow, man. Michael B. is amazing in there. He playing two different characters as cousins, but like—

He can't get them brothers away though.

Yeah.

We don't know that yet.

Well, that's in the breakdown of the film. No, it ain't. That is out there.

It's not in the trailer, dog.

For sure. That's out there for sure. 'Cause Hazel, before I saw the film, I saw Michael B. talking about he's playing two different characters.

Oh yeah, they give it interviews and all that.

Yeah, yeah. Michael B. talked about playing two different characters.

Hey, don't be that dude to give the movie away.

So I ain't giving the movie away. Michael B. already spoke about it. I saw him and I saw Coog speak about him playing the two different roles. And I saw Michael B. speak about playing the two different roles. So I'm gonna leave it there.

Please. But the film, It was crazy.

Oh my God.

Wow.

Unbelievable.

Unreal. That's what's up. I can't wait to see it.

I was happy to get a day off. See Sinners. I appreciate the invite, Coop. Took the wife. We had a blast. That was incredible. But now it's time to get back to this basketball, man. And before we start talking playoffs, I wanted to mention something to you, BD. That excited me. Joe Dumars to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Big time.

Scott Perry.

Bingo.

To the Sacramento Kings.

Big time.

He's the general manager. What that said to me is, it excited me.

Come on, DJ.

DJ did.

Because what that said to me is, obviously they're my guys for sure, no doubt. But what that said to me is people ready to get back to basketball.

Yes.

Like, let's bring back these real basketball minds.

Minds.

Thank you, bro. That's what those two moves said to me. We ain't even started the playoffs yet and those two moves being made.

Yeah.

Let's get back to real basketball now. Congratulations to those two guys with those two franchises. I think they, those are some incredible hires.

Nah, man, I think, you know, for somebody like me who know the game, talk the game, you know, dealing, investments, marketing, all that, like to see the Joe Dumars and the Scott Perrys, you know, you see people who are qualified for the job. I get excited 'cause I'm like, damn, I'll go work for Scott Perry. I'll go work for Joe Dumars, right? But it opened up the door I think it's gonna open up the door for a lot of other former athletes. You look at the Landry Fields and Kyle Korver, what they doing in Atlanta, right? There was a regime of the James Jones and like—

Draymond Green.

That was an early regime, but now you're looking at it and you like, oh, there could be some new blood, some new intelligence. And to your point, the NBA is getting back to, great basketball minds, finding great talent, putting together great teams, right? The analytics will take you so far, right? But it will also— similar to tech, you can't scale, right?

Mm-hmm.

And so if analytics is telling you to draft this person, but you drafted the same person last year, and then you already have someone that's the star in that position, You know, that's why you're seeing, you know, every team can't play like the Boston Celtics, like the Golden State Warriors. You gotta have a style. Analytics can't create a style for you. That's a fact. And that comes in mixing and matching personalities, intellect, and talent. And so I love the fact that Joe D and Scott Perry were the first hires even before the season is over. Because I think that sets the tone for the summer. That sets the tone for free agency. And then we'll see the Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings improve.

1000%. I think we'll also see there's gonna be coaching hires.

Yep.

I think this sets the tone for that as well. It's time to get back to real basketball, guys. So that's fire. And just moving towards playoff basketball, which of these teams in the final play-in games do you believe could challenge the number one seed in the East or West? You got the Heat versus the Hawks, you got the Mavs versus the Grizzlies. I guess who you taking in those games?

I think the Hawks too banged up.

Capella out, Jalen Johnson out.

Jalen Johnson out, Capella out. Here's the thing, we play so bad in this seventh game, that we can't have two bad games, right? But then it's also like, we play so bad and we going home with the pressure of, you know, the Heat coming off a big road win, right?

Yeah.

There's a dynamic there and it depends on, you know, which Atlanta Hawk team show up.

Yeah. Well, I think Trae definitely gonna come back with Avengers. And in a one-game scenario against Draymond Green can get tough.

That can get real tough. 'Cause he can take over.

Yeah, he can go for 30, 32, and 12. And all of a sudden you look up and, and it's tight. But I do think Miami looked really good the other day.

But Miami defends.

They do defend and they look really good.

Yeah. Out of the teams in the play-in, in the East, Miami looked like they were the most poised to play playoff basketball. Even more so than Orlando. They came out and you know, they was punching.

They were.

And they never stopped punching, right? So.

They got the experience too. Bam has played in NBA Finals, Tyler Herro's played in NBA Finals. Yeah, that's what they live for. Wade is an NBA champion. Kyle Anderson's played a bunch of NBA, played off basketball. Alec Burks has played playoff basketball.

So they got the experience. Oh, this gonna be a good game.

They got the experience for sure.

This gonna be a good game.

Heywood Highsmith has played playoff basketball. Duncan Robinson's played playoff basketball. So they got the advantage from an experience standpoint for sure. And then you got Mavs-Grizzlies. Mavs looked good last night. Klay got it going. AD got it going. They moved Najee Marshall into the starting lineup. They said, listen, we just putting our best 5 out there.

Yep, yep.

And they looked good last night. They dominated the Kings. They did, they dominated. In Sacramento. So who you got, Mavs going to Grizzlies?

It's hard to bet against the Grizzlies, especially the way they played against Shaw. But it's hard to go against AD and Klay. Who's at home?

They in Memphis. Oh yeah, that's gonna be tough. But just like the East, Dallas coming off a huge road win.

Huge road win. Can Dallas do it twice? Can they salvage the season? I mean, I love to see the Mavericks play OKC in the first round, but the Grizzlies would give OKC a run for their money.

They give, they think they give 'em more trouble.

Yeah, I think they give OKC a lot more trouble than what the Mavs will present. But I don't know, the Mavs, you can't count the Mavericks out, right? They got some hoopers over there. They got Lively, he's back, right? You got AD back, you got Klay there. So, you know, Najee Marshall is playing great for them. Who is it, Dimwitty?

Yep.

He's playing. They got players, they got hoopers. So if it turns into, you know, like a hoop game, I think advantage to Dallas.

Yeah, man, Dimwitty played 2 minutes last night.

Oh, did he?

He got in at the end of the game last night. He took him out of the rotation.

Wow. Well, they don't have Dimwitty.

They played the young kid, Brandon Williams, who been playing well.

He nice, bro.

He had 17 and 5 in 17 minutes.

Hey, look, he can get busy. He tough.

He is tough. He put a Euro on me when we played there in Dallas. I was like, whoa, who is this dude?

What you do?

Where you going, buddy?

Pow, oh, right hand finish, right foot. I was like, whoa. All right, lock in, Green. He can play. I like the kid Brandon Williams. So yeah, they playing him over Dinwiddie.

Oh, PJ Washington is back.

That's why.

PJ?

Yep, PJ, 17, 9, and 4, 2 steals, +28.

Dallas matchup with Memphis great. It's gonna be, you know, AD, Triple J. It's gonna be Ken John Morant dominate in a game like this. And what does Ja Morant dominating look like?

Yes. If Bane gets you 25, Jaren gets you 20 to 25, Ja need to get you 20 to 25 with 8 to 10 assists. I think that's dominating for Ja right now with this team. Taking over at the right time as well though.

Bingo.

You know, he gotta get guys involved, make timely buckets. I think test the 3 early, like see if he can get the tray ball going early. If not, he always know he can get to the paint. But I think he need to mix it up for sure.

When I watch his game, there's a level of awareness and understanding that once he figures out, okay, Bane is good for this, you know, if I can get this outta Triple J, if I can go get 12 from him, Pippin, let me get 14 and start to play from a script, right? He needs to come to the game with his own playbook.

Yeah.

So he knows when to score, when to shoot, when to pass, who to pass to, right? I feel right now it's talent and leadership and gusto, right? And energy and just being a dog, his mind needs to take his game, will take his game to another level. 'Cause then he wouldn't have to work that hard. He's too talented to have to work that hard to put up 30 against Shaw and have that type of game. But the impact, right? He didn't dominate the game with all the different tools that he has, right? Right. It was like a good matchup with Steph,. But if Steph do that and Draymond Green getting 30, like there's no way you should lose, right? And I think he needs to become more of a director, right? He has to be more of the Ryan Coogler. You gotta know your cast, you gotta know your script, and you walk into the game, you gotta know, okay, oh shit, let me take these pages out. This shit not working. Let me fast forward and skip ahead to where I need to be in the third quarter in the middle of the second quarter, right? But the great ones, that's what Steph does. That's what the Draymond Green does. That's what the LeBron, like you have to have a script going into the game knowing how you can make everybody better.

That's high-level point guard talk right there, BD. It's high elite-level point guard talk. I can't necessarily speak to that. I'm not an elite point guard, although I do think I'm a point guard.

Yeah, you do. You are, you play the point.

When you play stuff, you play like a point. But I do try to think the game and see the game from a point guard lens. But you know, I try to do that.

Yeah, you like the point forward. You start the offense. All right, man, speaking of play-in, we gotta see play-in playoff Jimmy. How about that? Talking about 38, 38, 7, 6 versus Memphis. He also had a great game versus the Clippers. How do you feed off of this playoff Jimmy, you know, going into this series versus Houston?

Man, I like it. It's crazy because you kind of just making that adjustment to it though. You know, it's like he turned it up 10 notches the last 2 games. And so seeing that now and being able to make the adjustment, I'm excited to start these playoffs because I can figure out more and more just other different ways and spots to get to in order to take advantage of everything that he's bringing. And I can finish better around the rim to take advantage of everything he's bringing.

Mm-hmm.

So it's been crazy to watch someone elevate their level of play like he has the last 2 games. And he been saying it, he's like, yo, the playoffs, I'm different, like, and I play different. And it is, he definitely played different. So I'm excited as hell, man. He make the game so much more easy for me and everybody out there. Like, get to the right spots and let him do what he do. He incredible, man. It's amazing to watch. Yeah. To watch someone raise their level like the way he's raised his level these last 2 games. Like I'm obviously accustomed to like raising the level in the playoffs and the success we've had. You have to do that. But to see someone else do that, like so up close.

Yeah, it's crazy.

Mm-hmm. It's wild, man. Like, I mean, totally different player on both sides of the floor. It's crazy. And he was already really good, right?

But like, It's different now.

Whoa.

It's a whole, yeah. He posted on IG, "Once upon a time, there was a 7th seed. To be continued." And we know how Jimmy is with his playoff posts. What's your take on that? How do you feel about that? Is that the energy for the team?

That's definitely the energy for the team. Listen, we just need to get in.— And we've been saying it the whole time, just get in the playoffs. Don't matter what seed. Didn't really wanna be in the play-in. All right, it happened. Let's get it done. Let's get in. And now it's go time. Like, we in and we know what it takes. We got the experience. Like, we got the squad, we got the pieces, we got the lineups. We got obviously the Don that is Steve Kerr. We got— Mm-hmm. You know, we got everything and it's right there for us. So once upon a time, there was a 7th seed. To be continued.

I love that. Hey, y'all communicating. You know, it's not just Draymond communicating, Jimmy, you're seeing Steph, you know, after you took that 3-pointer in the 4th quarter, I saw Steph say something to you, right? So Steph is talking, what did he say, by the way?

You know, he said, I said in my press conference, I was like, yo, Steph in a very nice way told me not to shoot. Steph would never say not shoot. But that's how I wanted to hear what he was saying. Like, and so he came to me and he was like, yo, I took the shot, I missed it. And like you said, it was one of the ones that I wanted to get back 'cause I need to just settle in, raise up. I was supposed to knock that down. I was so mad.

Soon as I let it go, I'm like, I ain't get all the way through. You was anxious. You was so anxious.

Just started thinking about Draymond Green.

Just started crying like, "Ah, ah." I felt that one. I felt that one.

And I was like, "Ah." But he came over to me and he was like, "Yo, we need to get to this action." And it's an action that we like to get to. He's like, "Yo, we need to get to this." And I was like, "All right, say no more." And pretty much what he was saying was, I want you to get the ball in the same spot that you just got it.

Yeah.

I don't want you to take the shot. I want you to get me the ball so I could take the shot.

Yeah.

And so I want you to get the ball right back where you were, but I want to take the shot.

Yeah.

It's pretty much what he said in layman's terms.

Hey.

And I was like, oh, say no more. Hey yo, go right back to that. And we went right back to it and he took the shot. And if you see when he took, he made the shot, he turned to me and said, huh?

Yeah. I was like, ah!

I told you, fool. Like, let's go.

And so— Let's go.

Man, but it's crazy because as you know, I've been playing with Steph for 13 years and I feel like I've seen his growth as a basketball player because after year 3 and all the ankle injuries was really when Steph's basketball career started. Like, it's really when his NBA career started.

Yeah.

After all, and, and, I was right here for that year where I felt like his career really started.

Yeah.

So to watch the growth from that point and for him to come to me and be like, yo, all right, so this boom, boom, we need to like, that's the growth that I'm most impressed by. Obviously the shot, the shot making, the everything, like all of that stuff is incredible. But for me, I've seen it from the inside the entire time. And like, that's the growth for me where everybody's like, man, Steph became this, who he's become obviously. But it's that right there that I appreciate the most because that growth right there encompasses so many different areas of growth. It encompasses his voice, you know, like he didn't always have that voice right there. Mm-hmm. All these years. Like that's something that he grew into, you know? And like ability to read the defenses and see the floor. He's always been able to see the floor, but he see the floor at such an elite level now.

It's crazy.

And the timeliness, like it was so timely. Like, and so those are the areas of growth where I'm like, where people will see like we have a certain connection on the court. Right?

Right.

That's what the ones where I'll be sitting back like, wow. Like even like where I'd be amazed because I can remember those situations even 7 years ago, 5 years ago. And he wouldn't have said that.

He wouldn't have said nothing. He wouldn't have said nothing.

Yeah, that's the area where I'm like, wow.

Yeah, he wouldn't have said nothing.

That's the whole thing.

Absolutely. I was saying this when y'all lost to the Lakers in the playoffs, I think it went to one game. I was yelling like, "Bro, you gotta get downhill." Like, "They respect your 3 so much, you gotta get downhill." Now you're seeing him shoot more free throws.

Yes.

Then my next thing was like, how does Steph Curry improve and elevate to the next level? He's shooting mid-range shots. We know that you have these hallelujah threes and you can catch you can catch the Holy Ghost, you know, but it's all of the other things that he's doing, the trust in teammates, the making plays for teammates, even playing better defense that don't get recognized. And that's what I see. I just love the, I love that as he's aged, it's become the most acquired taste.

Mm-hmm. Right.

That's a fact. And an evolution of, yeah, I started this revolution of 3-point shooting, but like, look at me as I got older. I am like an elite, elite basketball player. When you try to dissect all the things he does.

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Remember to subscribe to the Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis so you don't miss any episodes.

And don't forget to follow us on all social media @DraymondShow. All right, Dub Nation, it's time we look at the Houston Rockets matchup. When I would prepare for a playoff series, I would basically like create a new playlist. I sit in my room, just watch the games, right? And vibe out to my playlist and really kind of hole up. Right? Start creating my cave. What does your level of preparation for a playoff series look like?

Oh man. You know what's crazy, BD? Is so, when we start these playoff series, since Steve has been here, the level of detail we go through to start the playoffs, to start the series off, is so intense and like, Like you gotta dial in. And I always tell people, when you win a championship, it's not the winning the championship moment that you remember because if I'm honest, it's a blur. Like it happened and it's like, what the hell, man? Like what? And then like, it's so crazy. Like it's outta body, you know?

Yeah.

But what you remember the most is the journey.

Mm.

And our journey starts with this crazy lock-in on detail. And like, I played for Tom Izzo, and the way Tom Izzo, the film, the level of film we used to watch, like, I feel like I watch film differently than most, even coaches do. Right. Because of the way Tom Izzo taught me how to watch film. And so the level of preparation that goes into a playoff series takes me back to, my foundation. After the Clipper game, all I could think about was like, man, we gotta win this game because I want that first film session. Like that first film session we have to start a playoff series. I want that so bad.

Yes.

I just want to experience that.

Yeah.

And so that's all I could think about was just like getting to this, like we gotta get in so we get this first, like this film session. Like I love the start of that. And so, My level of preparation for a playoff series, like I dive in to this team immediately because I wanna know everything. Like I wanna know everything that they do. Like you gotta be obsessive with everything about them. Like just obsessed with it. And so, and that's the beauty of the playoffs. Like you get the opportunity to play a team for 7 games straight.

Mm-hmm.

Like you get the opportunity to know a team. You just consume yourself with this and basketball. And I love basketball. So this is my favorite time of the year. Like, 'cause you just get to lock in on what you do.

That's everything. 'Cause think about during the season, you getting Cliff Notes.

Mm-hmm.

'Cause you got another game. Cliff notes on the Rockets, cliff notes on the Rockets. You done played them 4 times, you familiar with 'em, you know what they do, but when them playoffs come, you get full, a full menu detail, dissertation, white papers, you get all that.

Hell yeah.

And you get a whole week to see the same people every day. So there's a level of studying that goes to a whole nother echelon. And it's like, you're checking off all these details and notes and the detailed notes when you watching it on tape, you're like, oh, that's how I stop him. 'Cause during the regular season, you like, damn dude, I got, sometimes you like, damn, I gotta play against this dude. He always play good against me.

In the playoffs, it's like, why is this happening, right?

Exactly.

And you can lock in on it.

Yeah, you get to really, really lock in, man. Like, talk about your excitement about, one, just the matchup, and have y'all had y'all first film session yet?

We'll have our first film session today, but I'm excited about the matchup. I think, you know, this young team is, you know, they've gotten a lot better. And when I say gotten a lot better, like, you look at the team last year to the, this is 2 seed. —like, I think they were like the 14th seed or 12th seed or something like that last year. They're hungry and they want what we've experienced before. And so be that you've been in that position before, you know exactly how they feel. You know, you know, like you can always rewind back to like, man, when we were in that position, like— Yeah. What that feels like and you can put yourself in those shoes, which can in a sense help you prepare in a different way because you know what to expect. And so I'm excited as hell about the matchup. You know, we've played Ime Udoka in the playoffs, in the NBA Finals. You know, we know what his teams bring, you know? And so I'm excited about the matchup. Hey, just being back in the playoffs, man. Right.

Right.

Being back in the playoffs, having that opportunity to compete at the highest level.

Yeah.

Is incredible. But then this is a young team, you know, a team that we went 3-2 with this year, 3-2 against. We played one extra time because of the play-in game. It's always a good matchup. Like it requires you to lock in if you wanna beat them. It requires a level of locking in, a level of toughness that you have to bring to the game. And you know, I love, those challenges. Anytime you have a challenge like that, we are the underdog. You know, they're, they're, we're 2 seed, they're 2 seed, we're 7 seed.

We like to be the underdog, baby.

We haven't been able to play underdog in a long time.

Now it's like, okay, 2-7, let's go.

Absolutely. You know, and obviously we don't view ourselves as an ordinary 7 seed, but the, it is what it is. We're the 7 seed, they're the 2. We gotta start off on the road. You know, the, and—

Battle tested.

That's always fun when you get the opportunity to start on the road, you know? And so, man, I'm just excited, man. To play playoff basketball is back. You about to see guys ascend to an elite level. And I'm just excited to be a part of that again, man. I used to take for granted just making it to the playoffs. You know, when you do something over and over again, you like, Oh yeah, that's just how it goes. Like, I don't take that for granted no more. Like, so to be in the playoffs with an opportunity to compete for Larry, that's what I'm most excited about.

We also, you know, they talk about bench players representing the starters on the scout team. Usually you get to see the dude who don't score a lot in practice bust everybody ass.

That part.

So.

Like, Like, I love to be on the scout team, 'cause like, I remember it was Darrell Armstrong, he was Allen Iverson, dog. He was in practice murdering us.

That's crazy. That's how it used to go.

Right? Like them dudes on the bench can't wait to put on that superstar cape in practice and get a starter's fits. But that's another great way —of preparation for the playoffs, right? It's just, it raises the level of practicing. Looking at Steve Kerr said, "Oh yeah, I get the next 2 days off." You know, some fans may be like, "Well, why they get 2 days off?" Man, Steve Kerr gotta go prepare these white papers.

Yes.

Then we need 1 day of film to lock in. Then we gonna get 1 good hard practice. Right, where we can get up and down, right? We can see what they pace feel like. And then the next practice we gonna get some shots. We gonna walk through, everything is detailed. Save your legs. Let's go to war.

Let's get it. Let's get it. This guy's been here before, people. He's been here before. Let's move around the league. We'll take it to the Eastern Conference first. Knicks, number 3 seed Knicks versus the 6 seed Pistons. This series is gonna be interesting because it's the clash of different styles in a way, but kind of similar. Like the Knicks grind it out a bit at times, but the Pistons really grinding it out, you know, like they fighting you and, and that's the attitude they coming with. You got the Pistons back in the playoffs. I told y'all this team has embodied that bad boy mentality. I'm gonna tell you an underrated piece in this series is Dennis Schroder. Dennis Schroder is different in these playoffs, man. Dennis Schroder is bringing a level of experience to that Pistons team in these playoffs that is going to help stabilize that team with young guys that ain't been there much. You know, Cade ain't been there, Stu ain't been there. You know, you got these young guys, Jalen Duren ain't been there. You got these young guys that ain't been in the playoffs and then you got DS, who been in meaningful playoff series and bringing that level of experience. You got Jared Jack on that bench who's played and brings the level of experience from the—

Tobias Harris.

Tobias Harris has been there, right? So you got a couple stabilizers that I think helps this Pistons team out. And then they got, you know, they, they got a level of physicality that they come with. And then K's an incredible player, you know? And so I think the Pistons can give the Knicks problems in this series. I don't think this is a cakewalk, you know, stupid. Stu and Jalen Duran, they gonna rough Karl-Anthony Towns up. Karl-Anthony Towns gotta bring his hard hat to this matchup because those two guys are going to, they going to try to rough him up.

They gonna foul him out.

I mean, listen, he can draw fouls, but they gonna take those fouls and they wanna try to make him quit. You know what I'm saying? Like that's gonna be their mentality is to try to make him quit.

When you foul out 6 fouls, That's 12 points.

It's the playoffs, man. They ain't calling it. It's the playoffs, man.

Okay, don't call it. I'm still gonna cook then. Like, I'll be waiting. Like, if I'm KAT, I'll be waiting. I would be waiting for them.

That's fine.

He gotta cook.

But that's what we talking about. He has to cook in order for them to win this series. It ain't your typical first round series. He gotta cook. He has to cook.

To me, this is the, best first round series that, and matchup that the Knicks could have got. Because when they get over this series, they battle, they battle tested.

I agree. I agree.

Detroit gonna push, they gonna fight, they gonna, they gonna hoop too. The winner of this series, it boils down to this, free throws and who making shots.

Yep.

Is Tobias gonna make shots? Is Beasley gonna make shots? Right? We know K gonna shoot the ball. K gonna make shots. For the Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns has to play big. Mikal Bridges gotta make shots. OG gotta make shots. And Jalen Brunson gotta, he gonna have to make shots, but he's also gonna have to distribute and be a playmaker. 'Cause the Pistons are physical. I love this matchup for KAT. Because they don't have nobody to guard him. And their solution is, oh, we're gonna bully him. Well, you ain't gonna bully KAT. That ain't gonna happen. KAT ain't getting bullied. They gonna try. Not against the Pistons. They gonna try. That's what I was trying to say. Trying to bully somebody versus trying to play basketball, you already defeated.

Yeah, but we can't act like Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Durant not good defenders.

Yeah, but I'm saying if they're worried about bullying, and not worried about defending him and bullying him that way, then KAT should be using that to his advantage.

Yeah, when I say bullying, I mean bringing a level of physicality. Oh, okay, got it. Like literally bullying. I follow him out. I'm saying like—

Yeah, I follow him out.

Bringing a level, they're gonna bring a level of physicality that KAT gonna have to work through and he gonna have to adjust to it. Like he gonna have to adjust around that first game to the level of physicality that I think they're going to bring. That's just my opinion. But I'm gonna tell you a matchup that I think is very important in this series because I hold him in very high regard and his length could be a problem.

Mm-hmm.

Asar Thompson guarding Jaylen Brunson.

That's why I say he gotta be a distributor to—

Because Jaylen, because the thing with Jaylen Brunson is like Jaylen Brunson like to get to his spots and he'll hit you with the body. Asar Thompson strong enough to take the hit. He fast enough to keep up.

Yeah.

He athletic enough to steal a contested shot even if you do get a bump. And so I think that's, that's a matchup. Like Jalen Brunson is an all-star. Jalen Brunson's all NBA performer. Jalen Brunson should be able to do what he do. But that's a matchup that I'm watching to see like how that turns out because, Asar Thompson's a hell of a defender, man. Both Thompsons.

I think so too. That's why I was saying Jalen Brunson, he's gonna have to score and distribute.

Yes.

Right?

Can't just be score.

The thing that I hate about a defender like an Asar Thompson is you can't get into their body. Like you can't find 'em. So when you looking for a bump or you looking, usually if it's a bigger guard or, a bigger person guarding you, you can bump and you can find him, but you can't find him 'cause he's, you know, he's so skinny.

Yeah.

And his limbs, you know, like he's skinny and he wiry. So there's no way that you can actually bump and push off without his arms and his hands still being, you know, a half a step away, right?

Yes.

Yeah. If Jalen Brunson can get inside the pick and roll, if he can get leverage on him, you know, in the basket and be able to use his footwork. But this kid is, man, this kid is tall as hell. And it's hard to find him on defense because you're playing against basically his hands and his arms pretty much all the time. And you're not, you're not gonna shoot the ball over him 'cause he's athletic. So—

That's a fact.

Let's go, let's go Nick State. Let's go Nick State.

And the petty has already started. The Detroit Pistons reportedly limit NBA playoff ticket sales to locals ahead of the Knicks matchup. You had to be, I think you have to have a Michigan, Ohio—

That's fire. License plate or driver's license.

Yeah, like at a address to purchase tickets or something like that. So I'm rocking with it, Detroit. I'm rocking with it. I love it.

Let's go Detroit. I love Detroit. I love what they doing.

Good luck to the Pistons. I'm rooting for the Pistons. You know why I gotta root for the Pistons?

I wanna see the Pistons win. Gonna win.

So let us go Detroit. Shout out to the Pistons.

Yeah, you know, I gotta go with who I think is gonna win the series. I think the Knicks is gonna win. Once a Knick, always a Knick. But I do love the Pistons. I'm torn because if you go back to the beginning of the year, what did I say? The Pistons are my team. The Pistons are my sleeper, them and the Rockets.

Yeah.

And so it's funny that both of these teams are in the playoffs playing against both of my teams. And damn, those were the teams I was rooting for early in the year. But it should be a great series. Shout out to Arn, shout out to Trajan Langton, shout out to JB for the work that they doing.

Yes, sir.

And how they turned that program around.

Luke Walden, Jared Jack.

Man, this could be one of the— Oh, gosh, man. One of the best series, I think, in this first round matchup.

George David in the front office. Hey, let's go Pistons. Let's go.

All right, here we go. Staying in the East, number 4 Pacers at the number 5 Bucks. Damian Lillard has been cleared but will most likely miss the start of the season, of the series, sorry. He's clear, but he's supposed to miss like the first couple games of the series. How does Giannis carry the Bucks to the next round without Dame if he doesn't come back? And then who do you think will win the series?

Man, over the last couple years, the Pacers have really given the Bucks problems. Even when Dame was playing, they gave them problems. Giannis, this team has been different over the course of the last 3 weeks. Giannis has really stepped his level of play up. He's really looking like the Giannis, the young Giannis younger Giannis that used to distribute a lot. Like Giannis earlier in his career—

Was a point guard.

Was a point guard and distributed the ball quite a bit. And he's looking like that player again, but only with the dominance of Giannis today. And, and so it's been incredible to watch this team over the last, you know, 2 weeks kind of find themselves without Dame, in the absence of Dame. And saying that this is playoff basketball, And playoff basketball is a little different when, when you're talking to schemes and the detail that goes into a playoff series and you just be needing your top guys. So, you know, with Dame at least gonna miss the first couple games of this series, no harm, no foul because these are road games and these are two free swings. In the playoff series, you don't have to win one of the first 2 road games. You just have to win 1 road game in the series. And so for them, this is a chance for them to know that, man, we, we more than likely got Dame coming back. Keep our fingers crossed for Dame Dolla. We more than likely got him coming back, but we going on the road without him right now. We got 2 free swings. Let's just go steal one, you know? And so that's the mindset of them. I think Dame, uh, Giannis will have to be great. My X factor is gonna be Gary Trent.

Mm-hmm.

Is gonna be my X factor. You need him or Torian Prince has to shoot the ball really well. One or two. If you get both of 'em shooting well, you really in business. But if you can get him or Torian Prince shooting well, I think that that's the X factor for them. So they just gotta go steal one. Ultimately in this series, I think it's hard to choose against. Players like Dame and Giannis. Pacers have had their number though. So ultimately I think I am going to choose, with Dame's uncertainty, I'm gonna choose the Pacers to win this series.

Ooh, I didn't expect you to say that. I did not expect you to say that. I would have to agree. I do wanna say this about Giannis. I love Giannis' game. I think Giannis is doing what Steph Curry is doing, right? He's elevating the middle side of his game. He's elevating, you know, hey, I can evolve into a much greater player than I am, that you think this, I'm just dominant, right?

Mm-hmm.

Back to the defense, back to the playmaking, back to the leadership, back to taking over. But more importantly, Giannis is starting to learn when to take over these games.

Yep.

And he giving these guys some freedom to explore, some freedom to make plays and play to they talent. And it's almost like before, his game requires so much attention that it was hard for everybody else to figure themselves out. Now he's allowing them to have attention so he can figure 'em out, so he can figure out how to go and win the game. The only issue is the Pacers are not afraid of the Bucks and the Pacers are not afraid of Giannis, right? You think about Siakam, you think about, you know, Halliburton. They got the Mathurin kid back. He's been playing well for them. The Pacers have the depth.

Obi Toppin's been playing really well as well.

Obi Toppin's killing.

TJ McConnell.

TJ McConnell. Like the Pacers, they've been a unit. Andrew Nemhar.

Yep.

They've been a unit. And so I don't think that they fear the Bucks. I feel like they think that they have the Bucks' number. I feel like their bigs feel like, hey, we can not stop Giannis, but we can, if we can control our environment and Giannis is still Giannis, then he won't have the impact. So it's really gonna be, to your point, who's making shots? Connaughton, Gary Trent, you know, what is Lopez gonna give you?

AJ Green.

AJ Green. What is Kuzma gonna give you? And then on the Bucs side, who's gonna step up and become, you know, that offensive hero for them?

Kevin Porter Jr.

That's possible. Absolutely, he got to take it. Yeah, he could be another X factor.

For sure. So who you got?

I'm gonna take in that series, I'm gonna rock with, you know what, I've been against the Bucks the whole year. I'm gonna go with the Bucks.

Respect, respect.

You know, I've been fighting Doc and the Bucks and asking Doc to let Giannis and Dave figure it out. Doc listened to me and now I gotta rock with the Bucks.

I respect it. I respect it. That man said Doc has righted his wrongs. All right. Yes, sir. Moving on, we got the 7th seed Magic versus the 2nd seed Celtics. The Magic coming off a beatdown of the Hawks a couple days ago. You got Jaylen Brown's knee for the Celtics that's been a concern. Heard he got some injections in it, if I'm not mistaken. You got the Magic missing Jalen Suggs. How many games do you think this series is going? Who you think winning this series? What you got for me, BD?

I think the Magic can get one because I think Paulo is that talented. Him and Wagner are that talented that they can at least get one. My whole thing with Orlando is they're gonna go the way their guards go. It's what everybody else is doing with Orlando outside of Paolo and Wagner. But when you look at, you know, the Celtics, they're a buzzsaw. I know Jalen Green, Jalen Brown's knee is, you know, a concern for people, but you know, they just want to get out this series. So 4-1, I would say Celtics over Magic. Maybe the Magic get 2 if they get 1, right? If they can get, if they can steal 1 in Boston, that could be, you know, something unexpected. But I do see Boston 4-1 in that series.

I got Boston as well. You know, just missing your starting point guard and going up against the defending champions, that's tough to overcome. You're right, they do have the talent to get one, but I am going to go Celtics 4-0. Ooh, sweet. Okay. Moving over to the Western Conference, we got the 3-seed Lakers versus the 6-seed Timberwolves. The Wolves seek to get revenge against Luka Dončić. Obviously, Luka was with Dallas last year. Dallas beat the Timberwolves in the conference finals. What does Ant-Man have to do to get the T-Wolves a chance to beat the Lakers?

Bean pies, french fries, mob ties, Lakers in 5.

There's nothing Ant-Man can do?

Wow.

Beach vibes. Wow.

That's crazy. Hell nah, hell nah.

Wow.

Hell nah.

That's crazy.

No, not at all. I mean, Julius, it's really about Julius Randle than about Anthony Edwards.

You said Ed gonna do what he do anyway.

I think Ed gonna have a good series. You know, Ed's a superstar, so he gonna get caught up in, you know, superstar performances. But what is Julius Randle gonna do? And do Julius Randle hate the Lakers and feel like he can dominate that game?

I think the matchup to watch, and it's crazy to say this, the matchup to watch, but you just spoke on Julius, but the matchup for me is Bron versus Julius because the way Bron plays today isn't the way he played before with this new Laker team. And so he gonna put Julius in a lot of actions and make Julius have to guard. And I know early in the year that was kind of the knock on the Timberwolves was that could they get Julius to guard? And I think he picked it up on that side of the ball. But now Bron is going to try to expose Julius on the defensive end. And so I think that's gonna be important. Mm-hmm. I also think you could see the Lakers go small and put the T-Wolves in a bind on, you know, with Rudy Gobert. If the Lakers decide to go small and they go Rui, Luka, Finney-Smith, Bron, Reeves.

But Minnesota can match that.

They can match it, but then Rudy Gobert gotta come off the floor though. And then you lose rim protection. So I think the lineups could cause the Timberwolves a problem. If the Lakers are making shots. Because if Finney-Smith's making shots, Rui's making shots, that could cause them some issues if they go small. So I don't, I think, you know, that's where some of the issues could come in that series. But you got the Lakers in 5, respect. All right, Nuggets, 4 seed versus the Clippers, the 5 seed. Who on the Nuggets has to be the difference maker in this series? Obviously Jokic's gonna be Joker. Jamal's healthy. I think Chris Dunn is a hell of a defender. So I think, you know, he can possibly make it hard on Jamal. But who has to be the difference maker for the Nuggets in this series to beat the Clippers?

One, I rock it with the Clippers in 6. Westbrook, Bron, and Michael Porter.

Okay.

Those 3 dudes have to step up. Score the basketball, rebound the basketball, and have to defend. 'Cause you know, Michael Porter, he gonna have to play some defense 'cause he's gonna be out there guarding somebody who can score the basketball or guard somebody that's attacking the rim like Derrick Jones who attacked the rim on offensive glass. Like who's gonna guard Kawhi is the question. Yeah. And then who's gonna guard James? And I feel like Zubac, you know, nobody can guard Joker, but I feel you got a big body in Zubac that can make Joker work on the defensive end too. Especially how the way the Clippers play, and they play sometimes through Zubac. So I like the Clippers in 6. I think the bench is gonna be, the biggest determining factor in this series because, you know, both teams use their bench. Both teams now have a little bit more bench depth. But I'd say talent, overall talent, and the way they're playing, I gotta give that to the Clippers versus Denver with, you know, a first-time coach coming into the playoffs and everybody is still in shock. Like, what the fuck happened? Yeah.

It's crazy. I was just about to say, here's where you're gonna miss Mike Malone. 'Cause you're going up against Ty Lue, who is— As good as they come.

As good as they come.

Yep. Absolutely. And a coach that's coached 4 games as a head coach or whatever it is. And is now about to face Ty Lue in the playoff series. That's tough.

Yeah.

And so in saying that, I think that makes a big, big, big difference in this series. And one of the key things I think in this series is going to be, you just mentioned them, but you, you really need Russell Westbrook in this series because you're gonna need Russell Westbrook defensively in this series. Russell Westbrook is the one guy that, that Denver has that I think they can throw at James or Kawhi. And he can cause some havoc. You know, like you're not stopping either one of those guys. Like they are superstars for a reason. But Russ, I think can cause some havoc. And so that's important. I think Russ is the, for sure, X factor in the series. And so that's what I'll be watching in that series.

And Aaron Gordon for that matter.

Right?

Absolutely. I say the Russ-Aaron Gordon tandem for defense, rebounding, like how, how, how well they play on the defensive end is going to really be the determining factor for the Nuggets.

Absolutely.

Like you need Bron offense, you need Michael Porter offense, you need Russ offense, 'cause they're gonna make— They're gonna dare Russ to shoot. Like, we know Ty Lue, he dares people to shoot. They will say, hey, put the ball in the player with the lowest percentage hands later in the shot clock. So Russ is gonna have a lot of opportunities to make plays, to score the basketball. On the other side, I mean, Russ has to play at a high, high level, right? And not saying that Joker or Jamal Murray, I just think— Yeah. If you get something that is where Russ capacity could be, then, you know, he has a chip on his shoulder playing against the Clippers as well. I just think the Clippers are gonna win in 6. You got James Harden, you got Powell, you got offensive firepower. Kawhi is back, right? Dunn is hitting shots. Derrick Jones is hitting shots. Bogdanovich off the bench, they have a machine, right? They have a machine and they are versatile. They can play small ball, they can play big too.

That part.

It's a great matchup. Who you taking?

Yeah, it's a great matchup. I don't know, man. It's hard to go against the Clippers when you're about to put a 3-game, 10-year head coach versus up against Ty Lue. I think that alone is just gonna be the factor. Huge. Like almost impossible to overcome. Nah, I think that's impossible to overcome. That's tough. That's tough for a head coach who's been doing this for years. One that's been doing it for 3 games, that's tough for me. So I think just that reason alone, it's hard to go against the Clippers and they're playing, obviously they're playing great basketball, but Ty Lue alone, I mean, I don't know David Adelman that well. I know he not Ty Lue.

Right.

Can he possibly be one day? I don't know. I don't know what assistant coaches like, but I know he ain't Ty Lue right now. No.

We'll see. And so that's tough. Yeah. Moving right along. Started playing basketball, fell in love with it. Like the first Air Jordan 1, Spike Lee commercial.

There it go. Nas coming out. Nas coming out. Nas coming out.

Right when I started playing, it was 7th grade, summer going into 8th grade. I mean, let's also just be real. Like I wanted to be Black.

Listen.

All the best players in the world were Black. All the best rappers, you know.

Listen.

I just wanna tell a little story. When I was a kid going to Crossroads, you know, coming from South Central, you know, family being on welfare, gang violence, drugs being kind of like the beacon of my everyday appetite. Then going to a school like Crossroads and seeing like these kids, you know, coming from big houses, right? Having nannies, you know, going to premieres, going to concerts, Laker game, King games. Man, I was like, NBA was my dream, bro. You feel me? Watch the best NBA players ever. But I wanted to be white because white people— Because white people were so successful. So growing up, in a Black neighborhood, I have a confession to make. I wanted to be white because I saw white people.

I'm keeping my focus on the playoffs, guys.

Steve Nash, you're Black in my mind, dude.

All right, I'm keeping my focus on the playoffs, guys. We're gonna get outta here. That's gonna be a wrap from this episode. That was a wild statement though. At the Draymond Green Show. With the man himself. Baron Davis. We outta here.

Love y'all, we out. Peace.