Jayson Tatum RETURNS! Draymond vs SGA & KD + Daryl Morey’s Hot Take

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. On today's show, I'll get into some of the headlines that I've taken note of over the past few days, including JT, Jayson Tatum, back on the floor after 10 months due to an Achilles surgery. What it's been like the last few days guarding KD and Shay, and Kenny Atkinson's wild take, which was a pretty wild one. Let's get to it. [MUSIC] The Draymond Green Show is proudly presented by Grooms. Grooms proves that you can do the least and still feel the most. Thanks to a delicious daily habit that does the heavy lifting. Save up to 52% off with code Draymond at Grooms.co. That's code Draymond at Grooms.co. Recording this from Utah, from my hotel room as we get ready to take on the Utah Jazz. But first, before we move into that game, last couple games, guarding KD, guarding Shea. The game before that, guarding Kawhi. So our coaching staff walked in, they like, yo, we gonna put you on Kawhi. All right, great. You know, had a pretty good defensive effort against Kawhi. They walk in the next day like, all right, we putting you on KD. All right, great. Decent effort guarding KD. Next day, or, and when I say next day, I'm talking the days, you know, the day of the game. Yo, we gonna put you on Shea. All right, cool. You know, and that's kind of what it's been. And you know, I've always talked about when you have the opportunity to guard some of the best players in the game, it brings out the best in you as a competitor. Like if you're a competitor, I know for me personally, I don't want to be the guy that's just out there getting annihilated. I want to make, It's tough on these guys after the game. I want them to feel like they had to figure it out because the reality is when you're guarding guys like that, you're not going to lock them down. They're going to get every opportunity to score, whether that's from a team, you know, and when I say the team, I mean their entire offenses are built around these guys getting shots. Whether that is through foul calls. Foul shooting, referees, all the different things. These are great scorers. A part of being a great scorer, you're going to be good at getting to the free throw line. All three of these guys get to the free throw line, you know? And so they're going to get every chance possible to reach the numbers that you're accustomed to seeing. As a defender, for me, how do— what does that look like in them reaching their numbers, right? Like, What, what did it require them to adjust? Did they just reach those numbers being comfortable and getting to everything that they wanted to get to? Or they had to do some other things in order to ultimately do that, which takes them a little bit out of their game plan, which makes it a little harder for the role players because you're not accustomed to them doing what they are currently doing at that time. And so then it takes some figuring out of how you play off of that. Yeah. You know, because everyone feeds off of the star and you figure out how you get yours off of that. And so if I can make these guys do something a little differently to where it also throws the other guys off and put them in positions that they're not accustomed to be in, that's also a part of guarding superstar players. You know, that's another lens to look at it through is it's always just not about locking up the guy, but more so how does it happen? And so KD finished 23 points on 8 for 16 shooting. Mm-hmm. Which is a very efficient night, 50% from the field, kind of what you expect from KD. Obviously under average, below his average. But also, I think in guarding a guy like KD, it's not necessarily how many shots you make or miss. How many shots can I also stop you from taking? You know, if I deny you the ball, you know, keep the ball out of your hands and different things. And also when you're guarding these guys, it's a complete team effort. You know, it's not just like, oh man, it's just me, mano a mano, we're playing one-on-one. That's not how basketball works. Basketball, 5 guys are working on a string defensively. And if everyone isn't working on that string, puts you at a disadvantage, especially when you're playing against these guys. I was telling a couple guys on the bench, Dirk, throughout the OKC game, after my first time I checked out, I said, man, It's very interesting guarding Shea. Of those 3 guys that I named, Shea is probably the one I've guarded the least throughout my career. And I said, man, it's very interesting guarding Shea. The moment you think you can relax, he trying to get downhill. And he's always live. And thing with Shea is he's slithery, you know? So if there's a gap, he's gone, you know? And it's pretty interesting experience because then you also, Shay uses all your momentum on the defensive end against you. You know, if you're trying to cut him off, he's gonna use that momentum for you to not only not cut him off, but he's gonna use you to cut your help defender off. You know, so there's a lot of things, Shay's very clever in scoring. There's a lot of different things that you have to be ready for when guarding him. And obviously Kawhi. Kawhi is as tough a guard as there is, especially right now, the way he's been playing this year. Just look healthy, bouncy, you know, really, really, really tough guard. Handle is crazy, mid-range crazy, 3-ball crazy, strength crazy, athleticism. Kawhi got the whole package. Needless to say, I think, like I said, for me personally, when you have the opportunity You know, it's just competing at a high level, man. Trying to be the aggressor, trying to make these guys take shots that they don't wanna take, put them in uncomfortable positions that they don't wanna be in. And you know, that's the mission, that's the goal. I like taking on these challenges because it's a certain level of locked in that you have to be at in order to take on these challenges. You know, as you get later in your career, that's usually the thing that's hardest to find is how to lock in in certain games. And so when you have responsibilities like this, if you don't lock in, you'll get embarrassed. And I don't wanna be the guy out there getting embarrassed, you know? And so I really enjoy taking on these matchups. I expect as we continue, you know, throughout this season, that's also another thing. Like when I'm playing next to the 5 as opposed to playing the 5, It allows me to match up with the other team's best player, regardless of what position that is. It allows me to match up with the other team's best player when I'm playing next to the 5 and don't have to solely anchor the defense. And so I really enjoy that, you know, enjoy, you know, embracing those challenges because ultimately, like I said, as a competitor, it just brings out the best in the competitor. And I am a competitor. Draymond Green. There was a couple reactions from the Rockets game that everyone were talking about. Number one was the interaction with KD on defense. Everybody like, yo, what y'all talking about? And I told y'all, man, KD be having these crazy one-liners. So he just hit a crazy one-liner, boom boom. And it was actually about me talking to one of the guys on our team. I had Dott Malivay up. And when I Dott Malivay up, K was like, man, you dapped him up like you don't even know him. It was just a funny moment. 'Cause I'm just telling him in the moment, like, all right, we do this, he like, all right, bet. Shook his hand, we on to the next thing. K standing there looking at it, he like, man, you dap him up like you don't even know him. And I'm like, nah, man, I actually like Malibu. Like, he's a good young fella, you know, very respectful, wants to learn. But it was funny as hell. Just one of them things in the moment, man. And then everyone's talking about the technical foul on Jabari Smith, like, "Oh, Draymond being crazy." So let me explain to y'all what happened. What happened is I'm guarding KD. I am top-locking KD, which means KD is trying to come off a pin-down. I have my back completely to the guy who's setting the screen, forcing KD down the floor. Another tactic in not allowing him to catch the ball. When KD catch the ball, Good luck. And so Jabari took the foul, stood there like, "Hell yeah, get more physical with these dudes. Yeah, I pushed him down." Well, me being who I am, I don't think anyone should let that happen, but I'm definitely not letting that happen. The only thing I can do in that moment is what I did. You know, I think the one thing that people don't understand about this game, is you can't give people an edge in the NBA. You give somebody an edge, you lose. And I wasn't gonna give him an edge and we won, right? In a situation where Jabari was struggling mightily, you're not gonna find your edge on that play. And I'm not gonna be the guy that you foul and I fall down and you stand over me and walk over me and talk. That ain't gonna never work. Right. So that's what happened on that play. I know everyone tend to not ever want to see other people's actions or what they say or what they do, and I really don't give a damn. But that's what happened. And if I fall down and you step over me, something will happen to you. That's just the way it's gonna go. Way it's always gonna be. Nothing changing about that. And then also the end of the gameplay interactions with KD, you know, talking to KD. Yeah. At the free throw line trying to get him to miss a shot. You know, I think ironically enough, I was going up to talk to K and Tyrese got in the way. I think actually Tyrese getting in the way actually created the moment. It made it a thing when it could have just been me like, come on, K. You know, he actually made it a whole thing, which makes the pressure on the free throw rise even more. You know, but just things that— Yeah. Guys don't understand. And when you're looking for a mental edge, you take the mental edge. That was a good game though. You know, like I said, anytime I get— KD is a guy who gave me 54 points as a rookie. Anytime you get the opportunity to match up with a guy who gave you 54 points as a rookie, you're always gonna be up for that matchup. You're always going to do whatever you can to not allow that to happen again. Yeah. And so it's always fun playing against K. He's one of the greatest scorers I've ever played against and by far the toughest guy I've ever had to guard in this league. So when I get that opportunity, it tests my skills. You know, it tests what level am I able to lock in? Can I get the better of him on some possessions? I know he's gonna get the better of me on some possessions. And so that challenge is always fun to me. I think I like guarding K more than anyone in the league just because of the challenge that it presents. It is such a fucking challenge. He's 7 feet, fast, quick as hell, does everything with precision. And he's obviously not taking bad shots. So I probably enjoy guarding K more than anybody just because of the challenge that it poses. When you're guarding him, you have to be at your best. And then lastly, before we move around the association, a lot of people are saying Al Horford is the best center the Warriors have had since Andrew Bowie. And I think the reason people are making that comparison is because Al's a great defensive anchor. Al is smart as hell. Al makes everyone around him better. I've enjoyed like crazy playing with Al Horford. It makes the game so much more easier when he's out there on the floor. So I'm not getting off into who's the best center since this, that, and the other. But what I could tell you is— Who's the best? I absolutely love playing with Al Horford. Makes my job a lot easier, but also allows me to do my job to the highest of my abilities, which I can appreciate. Coming up next after the break, I'll go around the association, talk about JT returning to the court, Daryl Morey's comments on the 3-point shot, which is very interesting. And then we'll get into a little college basketball, the chaos surrounding Miami of Ohio's undefeated season, and much, much more. We'll be back right after this. There's just something about about a new workout set that makes you feel unstoppable. 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That's fabletics.com/draymond. As promised, now we'll move around the association. Jayson Tatum returns to the court after nearly 10 months after rupturing his Achilles. I know everybody spoke about his process throughout his return and how he was ahead of schedule and different things due to him get— having the opportunity to get surgery the next morning, which isn't usually the case. And as great as that is, you can get a million people to get surgery the next morning and it doesn't necessarily mean that their recovery is gonna be what Jayson Tatum's recovery has been because Jayson Tatum is a worker. Jayson Tatum loves the game of basketball, which is proven by him coming back after 10 months, which most people would've sat out the entire season. You know why? Mm-hmm. Because he just signed 200 and however many, 230 plus million dollar deal. Return for what? Is what most people would say. No, let me get fully healthy. Let me wait till next year, this, that, and the other. Kind of very similar to what Dejounte Murray, you know, getting back out there on the floor when you could have just sat the rest of the season. Obviously the Celtics are in a much different position, right? Right. They're number 2 in the East, uh, still with the possibility to compete for an Eastern Conference Championship and obviously an NBA Championship. But Jason Tatum coming back is, is, is about way more than just that. You're talking about a guy who, like I said, absolutely loves the game of basketball, who basketball is 1, 2, and 3 in his life. It's the most important thing in his life. Obviously a great man, great father, all of those things. Mm-hmm. But Jason Tatum loved basketball. And to see him get back out there, to see the Celtics win both games, you know, all of a sudden you lose a game, everybody like, "Oh man, look what happened. He came back, he messed up they flow." Love what I saw Jaylen Brown come out and say. Like, "Nah, man, we so happy to get him back out here. We kept this thing afloat." And to have my brother back out there, like them the words that matter. My brother back out there, you know. Man, just exciting, exciting stuff. Happy as hell for JT. And you know, he's still getting his legs underneath him, but he looked great. 15, 12, and 7 the first game back. 20 points, 3 boards, 2 assists against the Cavs. Won by 11. Like, to see him back out there doing what he love to do, it's great for the NBA, it's great for Jayson Tatum, it's great for the Boston Celtics. It is great for the game of basketball. So shout out to JT, man, doing the unthinkable, doing what most people want. Nothing but love and respect for JT. And it looks amazing seeing him back out there on the floor. What a sight to see. So shout out to my golden brother, JT. All right, and staying in the same lane, Kenny Atkinson called Derek White a top 5 player in his pregame presser. His explanation. What probably, what probably people aren't measuring is his defensive impact. Analytically, I think it's probably proven in various places that he is that player and that's how we treat him. He really disrupts you defensively. He's an elite rim protector, probably the best guard rim protector in the league. So just all of those things and put it in there with the shooting, you got a great player. Great player for sure. Top 5 in the NBA. I don't know if Derek White would agree with that, Kenny. It's just hard when you got Joker, when you got SGA, when you got Cade Cunningham, when you got Steph Curry, you know, when you got Anthony Edwards, when you got Victor Wembanyama. Kawhi Leonard. Let's talk his teammates, Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum. It's tough. It's tough to put him in the top 5 player in the league category. Nonetheless, I absolutely love Derrick White game. I am a big fan of Derrick White's game. The work that he's consistently put in to become the guy he's become, I got nothing to love but respect for. And I got nothing to love but respect for Kenny. Kenny. He probably just overshot this one a little bit, but this is what coaches do, right? Like, you know, wanna soften the guy up a little bit, you know? So I take this as, this was Kenny trying to soften D. White up a little bit. But nonetheless, hell of a player, man. One of the better players in this league for sure. Definitely plays both sides of the ball. A lot of respect for Derrick White's game. Top 5 is tough though. Yeah. Draymond Green says the NBA is unbalanced and the 3-point shot is worth too much. His full comments were, I was telling the league office they need to fix the 3-point problem. That was created by all the analysis from the conference. Assuming he's talking about the NBA's tech conference and the MIT conferences that everybody used to go to and all these things. All the analysis from the conference and they were arguing against me. And so it was sort of like a full circle moment where I do think the game is unbalanced for sure. 3 is too much for that shot, and there needs to be something to do to help fix the game and address it. I believe something needs to be done. I think it's more urgent than tanking. As much as people talk about the different ways people get 3s and think that's all true, the reality is 50% more is too much for that shot. We need— we somehow need to address that. This is interesting. Uh, Pop calling the kettle black. If you remember back to 2016, 2017, 2018, 2015, '16, '17, '18, '19, Daryl Morey was building a team to beat the Golden State Warriors. Daryl Morey was building the Houston Rockets and he was very vocal about, we built this team to beat the Golden State Warriors. And when you fail and you were so vocal and so upfront about something you set out to do and you fail, it can be a bit embarrassing. So much so that one's theory that was to shoot threes and not mid-range, you shoot layups or threes, you do not shoot a mid-range jump shot. That one's theory now doesn't even want the 3-point shot to be the 3-point shot anymore. Darryl Morey was the guy like, yo, we need to launch more and more threes. That was Darryl Morey's theory. And now, The 3-point shot is worth too much. Well, the problem is, in this league, there used to be a lot of basketball people, bunch of basketball minds. And the league kind of went away from that and went to all numbers. And Draymond Green was one of the driving forces behind that. To come out now and try to change the whole game of basketball as we know it and play it because guys have gotten better and good at certain things is ridiculous. It's ridiculous. So now we want to add a 4-point shot or who knows what. But no, like, can we stop trying to just completely rewrite the game of basketball? Because Darryl Morey came up with a theory that ultimately wasn't successful for him? You came up with a theory with all of these numbers and, you know, you're computing these numbers, you're doing these calculations, you come up with a theory that ultimately fails you, and now we wanna just like, The shot that was the leading driver in your theory, we wanna change it? No. Let me tell you, Daryl Morey, as someone who plays this game, it is harder to shoot a 3-point shot. It's harder physically, it's harder mentally. It is tougher. Is the 3-point shot being shot at a high rate and a higher clip than ever? Yeah. It's the evolution of the game. It's what happens when things evolve. You get better at the current things. But now you wanna take it away? But Daryl Morey's supposed to be an NBA champion because due to the 3-point shot. And because it failed you, now we wanna just like rewrite all the rules. I'm sorry, but miss me with this garbage. This is garbage if I've ever heard garbage before in my life. We've got all the mathematicians, all the data analysts, all of these things we got in basketball now. And now you wanna change the 3-point shot. Come on, this is ridiculous. The theory didn't work, now we need to get rid of it. No, no, no, stand by your theories, brother. You had a theory of shooting all 3, stand with it. Maybe it'll win you an NBA championship one day. Maybe. As we move into college basketball, the Big 12 is debuting an LED court for their conference tournament this week. And I think it's absolutely the worst idea of all times. They had an LED court in the All-Star Game. It looked ridiculous. You're putting an LED court in a, in a— number one, it can affect these guys. You're gonna do that. What is it bringing you besides possibly hurting teams trying to get to the tournament? Out of your conference. This is ridiculous. Put a hardwood floor down. It's also possibly a bit dangerous because those LED courts do not feel the exact same as a regular hardwood floor. Like, come on, guys. What are we doing? Also, I don't want to fucking see LED lights under my feet while I'm playing a basketball game. Are you kidding me? It's ridiculous. People just— you start to think too outside the box and you get dumb shit like this. Enough already. Ton of debate online about whether Miami, Ohio basketball should make the NCAA tournament. Miami finished the regular season 31-0. Miami had no quad 1 wins and 2 quad 2 wins with a net ranking of 53. You have bubble teams like Auburn who shouldn't even be in the discussion to make the tournament, but because Bruce Pearl says something, everybody's going to act like Auburn should be in the tournament. 16-14 before the conference tournament. Get the hell out of here. Oklahoma, Ohio State, Indiana, New Mexico. All these teams claim that they should be in over Miami, Ohio because they faced tougher competition. Auburn had 4 quad 1 wins and 2 quad 2 wins with a net ranking of 39. I'm sorry, you lost 14 games. No. Oklahoma, 16-14 as well, had 3 quad 1 wins, 5 quad 2 wins with a net ranking of 55. I'm sorry. No, you're 16-14. Ohio State, 19-11, had 3 quad 1 wins and 5 quad 2 wins with a net ranking of 30. Yes, Ohio State should be in. Indiana, 18-12, 3 quad 1, 3 quad 2, net ranking of 37. First 4 in, last 4 in, whatever. Agree. New Mexico, 22-8, 2 quad 1 wins, 6 quad 2 wins, Net ranking of 45. Only 8 losses plus. 8 quad 2 wins or higher. I'm rocking with New Mexico. Auburn and Oklahoma, get the hell out of here. Now, let's talk Miami. Miami shouldn't be in because no quad 1 wins and no quad 2 wins, but they went 31-0. I am not sure that they shouldn't be in. I think you go 31-0. Yeah. They've won their conference, MAC Conference. I think they should get a bid. Now what that bid should be, if they're first, you know, first 4 in or whatever, fine, right? They may have to go to Dayton and play, fine. Make your schedule a little tougher because I'll tell you, 28-3 and you play some great teams, looks a little better than playing no one and 31-0. Needless to say, I am not a part of the group that does not think Miami should be in the tournament. I do think they should be in the tournament, but I do think they should be a lower seed because you're right, their schedule is dog shit. It's complete trash. And you should get a better schedule or else, if it's just gonna be about going 31-0, then everyone should just start like scheduling bomb schedules if it's just going to be about 31-0. So I think this is double-sided. I think they definitely should get in, but they should be a very low seed because their schedule is bullshit. But let's not use them and lessen them to make Auburn look better. Auburn was shit. They didn't live up to what they were supposed to. Better luck next year, Auburn and Oklahoma. Coming up next after the break, we have a special edition of Golden Days called Spartan Days because it's officially March and you know, Tom Izzo dominates March. And I had some incredible moments with my Spartan dogs at MSU during this great month, so we'll get right back into that right after this. Eating well matters, but busy days can make it hard to eat right. Factor is a great way to go if you need to get a meal in after a workout, in the middle of a packed day, or whenever you need an easy way to get the right food. These meals are dietitian-designed, chef-crafted, and ready in just 2 minutes. No prep, no cooking, no excuses. Factor meals are packed with lean proteins, colorful veggies, whole food ingredients, and healthy fats. No refined sugars, no artificial sweeteners, no refined oils. 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Steve said, hey Draymond, I'm a diehard Spartan fan and can't wait to watch Izzo and the boys go deep this year. But one of my favorite memories was during the 2010 NCAA tournament against Maryland in the round of 16 when you brought the ball up the court and ditched to Corey Lucious. For the game winner. Can you take us through that moment and how Delvon Rose barely got out the way? Well, number one, I wouldn't say that I necessarily dropped the dime because to your point, it almost took Delvon Rose's head off. Why Delvon Rose was running in at that time right there, I have no idea. But give credit to Delvon. He knew that pass wasn't going to him and ducked and got out the way and Corey made the shot. One thing I know about Corey is Corey loved to shoot going to his left. But he made the play. In that moment, you know, I know we gotta get up the court. I know we gotta get a shot off. I push it up, I'm stopped, and I'm about to pivot through and rent, and I see Corey wide open. I swing to Corey, much better shot than I was about to get off. And the reality is I'm not sure I should have dribbled up and picked my dribble up right there. I probably should have kept attacking the paint. Needless to say, big time, big time, big time shot by Corey Lucious, and definitely one of my favorite— Shots. NCAA tournament moments. You know, the year before we had just came off a run to the national championship game and eventually lost to North Carolina. So to be in that position against Maryland, uh, Graves Vázquez, uh, led team who we had played and beat before. Um, we were a little familiar with this team, but very close game as most NCAA tournament games are. And you know, we were able to make that play down the stretch, but. Man, shout out to Corey Lucious knocking that shot down and extending it. We obviously end up going to the Final Four that year and ultimately losing to Butler on a bullshit play. Foul, but you know, they don't call it anyway. Big time shot by Lucious though to continue our trek in the NCAA tournament onto the Sweet 16. Where we eventually took on Northern Iowa that year and beat them and then took on Tennessee and beat them to get to the Final Four. But man, what a moment. You know, we got an opportunity to celebrate. That flight back home was incredible. Fun, fun times, man. Fun times. But happy Delvon Ro Duck. Very. Probably the most important duck —of one's basketball life. Most important duck I've ever seen in a basketball game was Delvon Roe getting completely in the way and then ducking to get out the way to allow Luce to make the shot. So, you know, next month, a lot of college basketball. So we'll have some more of these. Till next time, thank y'all again for tuning into the Draymond Green Show. That's a wrap. Deuces. If you're rocking with the Draymond Green Show, be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app. And while you're there, go ahead and drop a 5-star rating and leave a review. I want to hear what you think, and it would also mean a ton to me if you share it with a friend that you think would enjoy it. Let's keep this thing growing. The Draymond Green Show is presented by Audacy and executive produced in conjunction with The New Media. Our executive producers are Leah Reese Dennis, Danny Friesinger, and Greg Holtzman. Video production and creative design by Curt Courtney, Tim Meekle, Lauren Vieira, and Evan O'Brien. Special thanks to the team at The New Media and the team at Odyssey. Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Rose, Colin Gaynor, and Jake Gally. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]