NBA Finals Prediction: Celtics defensive keys vs. Luka Doncic, how Mavs stop Tatum | Draymond Green

Welcome to the brand new Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our content. What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. We have made it to the NBA Finals, which means we have made it through another full NBA season. And number one, I thank you all for continuing to tune in to the Draymond Green Show. Our listeners, subscribers, viewers. Can't thank you enough for the support. Means the world. Hope you keep coming and I'll continue to try to provide you with great analysis. And even more so than great analysis, just a great time. But as I said, it's NBA Finals week. We got a lot to talk about. Get into the NBA Finals. It is also some other stuff going around. Yeah. —going on around the NBA, the WNBA, sports media as a whole. Uh, we will get into some of that stuff. Caitlin Clark, Kennedy Carter, um, Angel Reese. Like, we will get into that. So, but before we get into all of that stuff, this is your NBA Finals preview. And we will talk about the NBA Finals. We got the Boston Celtics versus the Dallas Mavericks.

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Yeah.

There's 2015 for you right there. But yeah, you quickly realize like this is a different feeling than I've ever felt before in my life. And you go through the emotions and you have a blast and You try taking it all in and you go take your pictures and you party in Morton's like we did, standing on top of tables in Cleveland. You know, you— and then you go home and you party and you parade and go to Vegas. And for about a month, you kind of— or 2 months, you kind of got like this aura around you that Everybody knows like, yo, this dude is on like cloud nine. And with that aura, you also kind of got like a pass to go into the world and do whatever the hell you want and nobody's gonna say a thing for like a couple months. Take that with a grain of salt. Obviously, you still gotta be a good citizen, but you get the point.

Yeah.

And experiencing that feeling and saying that, people are like looking at you and they think you crazy and outta your goddamn mind. And they can't really make out like something's up with this dude and they can't really make it out. And while they can't make it out, you just kind of floating. And only someone that's a champion knows like kind of what you're going through. Funny, oddly enough, in 2016, I had the opportunity to play for the USA team and win a gold medal. Kyrie Irving was my teammate. It's Kyrie Irving's first ring. Kyrie Irving's only ring. And Kyrie kind of came around the USA team. And I remember a couple guys like, "Yo, what you on?" Like just, And I told them, I said, "Yo, he's like on this cloud, like experiencing something that like you can't even imagine feeling. And he just gonna live in his own world for a while. Just let him do what he do." And Ky came up to me smiling, laughing like, "You know exactly what it is. Like, you know." And I'm like, "I get it. Like, that's why I'm telling them like, it's cool. Like, he gonna, just let him do what he do." Yeah. And that feeling is what we're gonna get the opportunity to see from one of these teams. And I'm excited to see which one that it's gonna be. I think Boston's biggest edge in this series is that at any given moment, Al Horford can go off for 20 plus. We obviously know Drew's capable of going off for 20, 30. Derek White. And obviously Porzingis back. And obviously we know what JT and JB is capable of. But I think them having so many guys that can get off is a huge edge for them in this series. Now, one would say that could also be— Yeah. Your biggest downside as well. Because if you remember back to 2022, game 1 of the NBA Finals, we lost that game at home versus the Boston Celtics. And when we lost that game at home versus the Boston Celtics, Marcus Smart, Al Horford, And Derrick White combined, if I'm not mistaken, if my mind jogs me, if I can jog my mind correctly, my mind serves me the right way, I'm almost positive, those 3 guys combined 16 for 21 from 3. And when they combined 16 for 21 from 3, and I was getting blasted and badgered for doing this very podcast right here during the series. I remember, I vividly remember saying, if Al Horford, Marcus Smart, and Derrick White is gonna go 16 for 21 from 3 to beat us, We will be just fine. And yet, and very truly, we were just fine. And so I say that to say that can also be a downside because sometimes you get then your stars, i.e., Jayson Tatum, à la, Jalen Brown, get to overly looking for those guys. And the reality is when those stars like that, Luka, Kyrie, you know, are getting off, the demoralizing effect that it has on another team's defense when your game plan is built to stop those guys, the demoralizing effect that it has is totally different than Draymond Green going off for 30, what was it in game? 33, 15, and 9 in game 7 of the NBA Finals. Like that 33 is as great as it was. If Steph Curry is getting that, it's doing something different to the defense because when he starts doing what he's doing and getting that 33, the way the defense reacts then opens everyone else up. However, if it's me getting a 33, the defense is ultimately not going to overreact and they're just like, "Well, he's gonna have to beat us." And so it doesn't necessarily get anyone else going. And when you look at stars, that's where their biggest— Um. Their biggest help, their biggest, like that is where their biggest role is not only to get themselves involved, but what can everybody else get off those stars? And when all you people start naming like stars in the NBA and like no one else can get off them, like lo and behold, they're not fucking stars. Like, and we, you know, we live in this like day of social media and all this where like everybody wants to make everyone a star. And the reality is, it's like, There's not that many stars in the NBA. There just isn't. And so back to my original point, when you're going for 33, 15, and 9 in the NBA Finals, all right, that's great. And like, I'm having a great game and I'm getting off. But the reality is, if that's Steph doing that, Draymond Green's gonna get a wide open slip layup because the defense is gonna overreact and 3 guys gonna go with him and you get a slip and you get a layup. And the way those things then demoralizes a team and gets at a team because you're already not stopping Steph. And now we're all eating off him. And what that does to a team is it kills them. And so, I said all of that to say, as much as that could be Boston's biggest strength, it could also be their biggest letdown. It could also be one of their biggest flaws because those guys could get comfortable with swinging it to those guys and like, "Oh, he got open shot, let him take." And what that's doing to the defense, if JB isn't getting off his J, if JT isn't getting off, it's a totally different thing. Now obviously we run a totally different offense, so that's a different thing. Does not matter. So obviously we know we need those two guys to play well, but ultimately we need the role players to play great. Like you need those guys to be— Draymond Green. Extraordinary. But I go back to game 1 in 2015, '16, one of those years. Shawn Livingston, myself was getting off and Steph had a rough night that night. And we lost and we were getting off, we lost. You know, and so, When you think about it, like, you definitely need your stars to get off. Now, we'll get into like, whose stars is gonna get off more, what they need to provide, which team needs it most, and blah, blah, blah. But that is what I think their biggest attribute or, you know, the best thing for Boston in this series will be on the offensive end. On the defensive end, I think it's the ability to switch. But more importantly, I think it's the ability to throw multiple defenders at Kyrie and Luka. Like JB will spend some time on Kyrie. JB will spend some time on Luka. Drew will spend some time on Kyrie. Drew will spend some time on Luka. Derek White will spend some time on Kyrie. A little small, not sure how much on Luka. But the moral of the story, and JT, JT can spend a little time on both of those guys as well. So the moral of the story is having the opportunity or the ability to throw multiple defenders at great players, I think always helps because it gives them a different look. You got fresh legs, fresher legs, It's a different thing. And so I think the Celtics having that ability is their biggest attribute defensively. Now liability, from liability standpoint defensively, you got two of the best guards in the pick and roll versus Al Horford, who we've seen struggle defensively in the pick and roll. You know Dallas is going to exploit that and go at that and go at that. Now, what I think we're all anticipating is Dallas switching everything. I mean, excuse me, Boston switching everything. What I'd anticipate is Boston switching everything and staying home. When Al Horford comes, they're gonna switch everything with Al, and then I think they'll send a double team. That's what I kind of expect. Now, will that necessarily happen? I don't know. We'll see. But I think we'll be able to expect some of that at some point in the game because they're going to switch. And like, you gotta imagine if they're just switching and loading up boxes and elbows and you got Kyrie and Luka on an island with Al Horford, I can't just see them letting that play out. Yeah. Like when you get to this level, to this point, you don't get there by just letting things play out. You gotta impose your will on the other team. And so I don't just, I can't foresee Boston just sitting there and watching how that plays out. Like we know how that's gonna play out. And then you also, then you got Porzingis coming back, which helps defensively. The only problem is he's been out since April 29th. And for some reason people seem to think like that don't matter. And like, for a guy who has not played very much, very much meaningful basketball at all, and you think he's just gonna walk back into the conference finals, excuse me, the NBA Finals, I don't quite understand how that's going to work. So that's a bit confusing to me from a conditioning standpoint, from a speed of the game standpoint, from a physicality standpoint. Yeah. This is the NBA Finals. It is very, very, very physical. Adjusting to the physicality. Like I said, adjusting to the speed of everything. Adjusting to the way we do things during the playoffs. Because the reality is you really haven't played in the playoffs. Not much elsewhere and definitely not much this year. So those are some of the things that I think you have to worry about with— Draymond Green. Porzingis. And like, you know, don't overly be relying on him coming back because that's a tough, tough, tall task that he's being asked to carry out. If I am Dallas, I am literally thinking and believing that I— or not believing, I am literally thinking the old Bill Belichick adage, which is— I'm not. Make them play left-handed. Bill Belichick says that, like, for instance, if, if Randy Moss was your top receiver, Bill Belichick wasn't gonna let Randy Moss beat you. He was gonna double Randy Moss everywhere he went and make you beat him with some other receiver. Like, make them play left-handed, make them do something else other than what it is that we know they can do and really wanna do. And Boston is a very patterned team with all of their sets pretty much to get everyone to their right hand. With the exception of Adam Drew, who is a more dominant left-hand driver, everyone wants to get to their right hand. So I'm literally in my mind thinking I have to make these guys play left-handed. Meaning, I know they want to get everything to the right side of the floor. How can I force them to the left side of the floor? If I'm forcing them to the left side of the floor, my help does not need to be as, tight as it needs to be if they're getting to the right side of the floor to their dominant hands. In turn, if my help does not need to be as compact because they're going to their weaker hands, then I'm allowed to better stay home with shooters. And that is how you take the Al Horford's out the game, the Derrick Whites out the game. Even Jrue Holiday has been shooting the ball lights out off the catch. Peyton Pritchard.

Yeah.

You know, that's how you get him out of the series to where he can't play. Sam Hauser, that is how you get him out of the series to where he can't play. Al Horford, Al Horford shoots the lights out of the ball these days. Kristaps Porzingis can shoot the ball. So that is how you get those guys out of the game by simply making these guys play left-handed. I don't have to help as much because they're not as dominant going to their left hands, which allows me to control the 3-point shooting. We know Boston is a great 3-point shooting team and they will look to get them up. To negate that, we make these guys get to their weaker hands and I don't have to send as much help. And if I can do that, gives me a much better chance of competing with the Boston Celtics. So if I'm Dallas, that is what I am thinking from a defensive perspective. From an offensive perspective, Yes, we do know Kyrie and Luka can get a switch and they can go at anybody. How reliable is it to just depend on Kyrie and Luka to break someone down one-on-one every play? If Boston switches and just goes boxing elbows. Yeah, you can say it's Kyrie and Luka, that's great. How tired are they getting, right? Because one of a Boston game plan could be like, no, we just gonna make these guys go one-on-one on one-on-one, tire themselves out and then we win it. That could be the thinking. That used to be our thinking with James Harden. Like, yo, we gonna let him play one-on-one-on-one and cross, cross, cross and dribble and get to the hole and dribble, dribble, step back. And like, and we would say like, and he's gonna score and he's gonna get his. Come second half, he's gonna be exhausted. And if you go look at all of those games when we were playing, we just walked him down in the second half every time because that is very exhausting. Have to be very careful with that. And what I think, number one, to negate switching, you need to sprint into pick and rolls. You can't walk into pick and rolls. You sprint into pick and rolls so that guys have to move. So they can't just pass you off and switch and like bully you and boxing elbows and there's nowhere to go. If you're sprinting into it, now you got a guy moving, you got your guy coming off and the defender who's gonna be switching, he's coming up. From a moving pattern, not just standing there like this, loaded up, ready for the guy to work. And so you gotta sprint. You need to set some screens coming from the bottom of the floor. Those also make switches tougher because you can't just jam a person into the screen to switch the screen if it's coming from the bottom of the floor. Referees can see that easier if you're coming from the bottom of the floor and they're just trying to muddy the screens up. So I think you have to screen with pace. And then I also think, which isn't high— Draymond Green. Much of like how Dallas offense operates, but you have to have some cutters. Like you have to be willing to send Derrick Jones Jr. cutting backdoor outta the corner for the lob. See if that opens up. I don't, we haven't seen much of that at all. PJ Tucker cutting out the corner for lobs, cutting out the slots, removing guys, removing defenders. 'Cause if you just stand when a team is gonna switch and play box and elbows, it becomes tougher and tougher and tougher and also exhausting. And so you're gonna need to see some cutters, I think, to soften the defense up. Yes, the drive will soften it up, but that's what it's built for. So to soften that defense up, you have to make Boston rethink switching everything because that is a strength of theirs. And if I can immediately show you that that strength is no good here, they have to adjust. And so I think that's how, that's gotta be the mindset. It's gotta be the mindset if you're the Dallas Mavericks. Now, in defending the Dallas Mavericks though, if I'm Boston, everybody's always like, "Oh, we gonna stop Kyrie, we gonna stop Luka," and make the other guys beat you. One thing can, should be, and could be, and if it was up to me, possibly would be, is let me actually make Luka and Kyrie beat me. So I'm gonna take PJ Washington out the game. I'm gonna take Derrick Jones Jr. out the game. I'm gonna take Derrick Lively out the game. I'm gonna take Daniel Gafford out the game. And now let's just see PJ Washington beat me. If I got Derrick Lively or Daniel Gafford in the dunker, I'm not stepping up. You not throwing a lob. You just gotta make the floater. Those lobs are energy plays. Those lobs get those other guys going. Luka and Kyrie gonna score anyway. Even Joe Mazzulla said that. They gonna score anyway. So how can I take all these other things out the game? Not overhelping. I need one of my good defenders to defend these guys good enough. I don't need you to stop 'em. You're not stopping. Just do a good enough job to make them work really hard. And we need to stay home with the rest of these guys and not let them score. Because again, Luka gonna get his 30, Kyrie gonna get his 30. And if you got Gafford with 10, 12, Lively with 10 or 12, Maxie Claver with 12, PJ Washington with 14. You in trouble. You ain't stop nobody. Do you have a better chance of stopping Luka and Kyrie, or do you have a better chance of stopping the other guys? I personally think you have a better chance of stopping the other guys. So we always get caught up and hellbent into like, who's guarding this such and such, and like, how they gonna stop him? And Luka, how you gonna stop Luka? You not stopping Luka. This the NBA and Luka's great. You're not stopping Kyrie, this the NBA Kyrie Irving. But you can stop those other guys. And I think that's what the focus needs to be. If I'm Boston, I'm like, can these other guys beat us? And can these other guys outdo my other guys? And if I'm Boston, I feel confident in that. And so I think that's the way I would look at it is like, you're not necessarily stopping those two, but I can definitely stop these other guys. And if those two guys can score 50 and 50, you tip your hat to him and try it again next year, Hoss. But we know allowing those guys to make plays, get other guys involved, knowing they're ultimately going to get back to theirs, is a recipe for disaster. And lastly, in this series, I always speak about the game within the game. And the game within the game for me is to watch Luka and JT. Which one of those guys are going to take it more personal? That's what matters the most. Two Jordan Brand athletes, two guys fighting to be the face of Jordan Brand, fighting to be the face of the NBA. And here is your opportunity. And who's gonna take it more personal? Who's gonna take it, I gotta win this because this is what I want. That's the game within the game. It ain't about nobody else. It ain't about Draymond Green. It ain't about Kyrie. Which one of those two guys gonna take it more personal and say, "This is why I am who I am. This is the next stamp I'm adding to my resume, and I'm not gonna be denied." Which one of those? That's the game within the game for me. I need to see that. I need to see them boys on that type of time. Nah, not being nice. He's standing in the way of what you want. He's standing in the way of what you need. Who gonna be nasty? Who— I, I will not be denied by any means necessary. That's the game within the game. That's the one I'm watching. And so with all of that being said, that brings us to a prediction. And my prediction personally is I actually think Boston's gonna take game 1 because I think, uh, it'll take some time for Dallas to get used to that size and that length. The switching, what you're gonna do, what your adjustment's gonna be. Kyrie and Luka to figure out how they gonna attack that. I think that's gonna take some time. And because of that, I think Boston takes game 1. However, I think Dallas figures it out, come back and win game 2. in Boston. Going back to Dallas, 1-1. I got them going into that place that they've been playing great and taking game 3. I got them then taking game 4 with Dallas with a 3-1 lead. I got Boston taking game 5 and I got Dallas closing it in game 6. That is my opinion. I think it's Luka's time. I think Kyrie want another one. I think that experience is gonna matter. There's one big question everybody's saying, oh man, like everybody's like, Oh, JT and JB didn't finish the job before, they blah, blah, blah. Are they gonna do that again? I think those boys are way more mature than they were even 2 years ago. I think they've seen it before. I don't think it's a matter of they're not gonna play well. I just ultimately think Dallas is gonna get the job done. They're on a magical run. They got all the pieces. Dallas is gonna have to figure out how to match up with those bigs at times. If I'm them, I'm up at the level of the screen when those guards come off and they start turning that corner. If you setting a screen with Al or Porzingis and they start to turn that corner and get downhill, start to get downhill and then I switch it. I got you inside the 3-point line. If you wanna shoot mid-range jump shots and mix me in the mid-range, go for it. Not letting y'all get 3s back to those guys. And run us off the floor. Dallas in 6 is what I got. I'm rolling with it. I'm sticking to it. You heard it here first. We shall see who gets one of these things. With that being said, staying in the line of champions, this next conversation is a fun one for me. Obviously growing up in the state of Michigan, obviously having the utmost respect and love for my big homies, my OGs. Number 1, Joe Dumars, the orchestrator. Of the 2004 NBA champion Detroit Pistons. But my OGs, my brothers, my big bros, Chauncey, Tae, Ben, Rip. This is a touchy one. And you know, she come out and she says, we would've smacked the 2017 Warriors, blah, blah, blah. Here's why. Steph can't guard. We can match up with them. Draymond's too small. I've heard that my whole life. 4 of these things later, still ain't been proven yet. Ben is blah, blah, blah. And like, this is an interesting one because most times, you know, I'ma just like take it there. And I got too much, way too much respect for the big homies. But nonetheless, this is a very engaging, interesting, basketball conversation that I'm gonna take part in. Number one, there's a 0% chance that '04 team can beat us. You know, we were all happy in the state of Michigan to see them win a championship. Oh well, everybody else was. I love those guys, but if I'm honest, I told y'all Shaquille O'Neal was my favorite player in the world. And so I was a little— Mm-hmm. Conflicted with that series because it's the Diesel, man. Like the Diesel with an opportunity to win another one. Like it's crazy, you know? And so that's number one, a little conflicted. Nonetheless, the state of Michigan, we were happy to see those guys accomplish it again. First time since '90. '90. The Pistons were able to win a championship. And we were thrilled, man. That one championship was incredible. And like, that one was amazing. To sit and call out the champs, like the dynasty, that one was incredible. But we all know how hard it is and how good you gotta be to do it again. And quite frankly, The OGs weren't good enough to do it again. They was good enough to do to Boston, you know, get to the Conference Finals again and again and again and again and again, and we loved it. They was good enough to do to Boston, but they couldn't do— they couldn't do what the Dubs did. It's a reason for that. It's a reason for that. They couldn't do it again and again and again. Number one, a young LeBron James came about. I watched that game. Was I at that game? I think I was there when Bron went for what, 37 straight or 33 straight or something of that nature and just like walked the Pistons down himself. I mean, quite frankly, this championship ring at least had to go through LeBron. For two of the other ones, had to go through LeBron. LeBron single-handedly destroyed our Pistons. All of a sudden, Ben on to Chicago. Sheed, I think, got traded to like Atlanta Hawks or something. And Chauncey went to Denver. And like, our Pistons was no longer the Pistons that we once knew. With the one ring. And again, never gonna disrespect my OGs, but she is tripping. So let's talk about it. Love the big homie Chauncey, but Chauncey can't play with Steph. Like, Chauncey, all-star, great player, Hall of Famer, by the way. Congrats, big bro, again. Thank you. But it's levels. Steph's one of the GOATs. GOAT, you hear me? GOAT. Chance can't play with Steph. All right, Dean. Rip was absolutely amazing, by the way. Still looking forward to Rip getting that Hall of Fame call. I think it's well deserved. I think it will happen. Klay is happening. It's gonna happen. Rip, what Rip did coming off screens in the mid-range and all that stuff was beautiful. Rip Tracy wasn't like that. Klay's one of the best ever to shoot the basketball. So what Rip was doing coming off screens, Klay mastered that plus more, plus from distance. Way more dynamic. I'll give you 60 in 3 quarters.

60. Ding. Dubs.

KD and Tay. Tay was a great defender, man. Incredible. We going KD. No need to keep talking. Ding, next. Me and Rasheed Wallace. Rashid is actually one of the most skilled players to play in the NBA. And I know she don't get the credit, a lot to do with technical fouls and all this thing. He don't get the credit he deserve. If you talk to anybody who was around the NBA, who know the NBA, Rashid Wallace is one of the most talented skilled players to ever grace the NBA. Bar none, no debating that. I'm not gonna debate it because I actually believe and was able to watch. She like, skill level on another planet. But like, sometimes she was the first option on that team. Sometimes she was the fourth option. You not gonna be the first option here 'cause that just ain't flying. You ain't just getting, "Oh, he too small." Stop it. Number one, you gotta move them feet. She can't move his feet. She playing Air Force Ones, like hot tops, unstrapped. Like, that's 'cause ain't nobody making you move, bruh. Like, you gotta move. Like, in this game— Tomahawk, don't matter the rules. No, they matter. 'Cause in this game, you gotta move your feet. And them Air Force Ones don't move. You gotta move. Like, you gotta actually come up and guard. We gonna torture Sheed. Sheed the weak link on the defensive end, by the way. We putting Sheed and Rip in all actions. Guard, guard with Steph and Klay. Come here, Rip. Rip don't wanna check. I know Rip don't wanna check. I used to listen to Rip talk about checking. Rip don't wanna check. They don't wanna talk about that part though. They go, oh, Klay ain't guard— no, who Rip guarding? That's what we want to see. Who is Rip guarding? Let her rip. Who he guarding? Rip— between Rip and Shee being on the floor, that team can't play. Shee was a good shot blocker, I'll give it to him. A very underrated shot blocker. But we ain't just going to shoot layups. Like, you gotta check. So Rip and Sheed was defensive liabilities when it come to playing against us. So no, I'm not gonna sit up here like some idiot and come on here and act like I was more skilled than Sheed or blah. Sheed is one of the more skilled players to ever play in the NBA, bar none. So I'm not gonna do that. However, Sheed, you gotta come check. You gotta come move. You can put in every action. Go beg Joey Crawford to tech him because he bullshitting. Go beg him, hey, give him a tech. But that ain't gonna work because it's an ability thing and he can't check. So with two non-defenders on the court, teams with two non-defenders on the court against us, you can't win. Yeah. You can't. It ain't gonna work. We gonna pick on you and pick on you and pick on you. Ain't gonna work. So then we get to Ben. Ben is Ben. Ben gonna do what Ben do. But Ben got to come up out that drop too. Get put in these actions. You can't just bully us, Ben. We moving. Yeah. You gotta move. Them guys weren't moving, man. You go watch them games. 69 to 66 final. Like, what? 71 to 64. What? That's not flow. Oh, well, we played defense. Man, we play defense too. The rules are different. The game is faster. The game is better. But stop it. That's ridiculous. Come on, Sheed. We love that one championship though. Shout out to the OGs. She tripping. He know they can't win. Not, ain't gonna happen. No chance. By the way, we made y'all brand of basketball extinct. We did that. So the brand that y'all played to win, we actually like crushed that. Like, yeah, you can't play that way no more. You play that way, you gonna lose. You getting fired. He getting fired. He getting traded. He gonna be out the NBA. That's what we did to that brand of basketball. We did that to that brand right there. Come on, Sheed. That ain't never flying. Shout out to the OGs. Shout out to the '04 Pistons. We love that championship. We love that one ring. That one ring is incredible. Y'all be sounding like Kendrick Perkins and his one ring. Paul Pierce and his one ring. Shout out to the guys though. They sit at the table, but there's levels to the table. Love when I'm on NBA TV, Inside the NBA on TNT, me and Shaq start to show off like this. It's a different club now. It's a different club now. So, you know, they champs, part of the club. But then it's a different club. And you know, the OGs, they can't sit at that table. They sit at the champ table though. We can't take that away from 'em. And we love it. Always respect a champion. Always respect a champion. Told y'all the story about Aaron Gordon. Once you win a championship, brother, I'm done. You got my respect. Say no more, champ. You sit at the table. But that one ring, sheesh, that ain't enough to call the best team ever. You can't call out the best team ever with that one ring. We love y'all though. Shout out to the OGs. Also, rest in peace, Drew Gordon, actually from my class. Mentioned Aaron Gordon, I'd be remiss if I did not send my love and well wishes to their family. Can't imagine what they're going through, but I just wanted to pay my respects. Drew was an incredible competitor. Like I say, he's from my class of 2008, my graduating high school class. Was one of the top guys in our class. Well respected, great basketball player, hard-nosed, physical as hell. So shout out to Drew, rest in peace. Shout out to Aaron Gordon and the Gordon family. Much love and respect to them. Thank you. Sending our condolences. In other news, as we spoke about, we would get into is the Kennedy Carter and Caitlin Clark situation. Number one, I saw she came out like, "Enforcer who?" Talking about my tweet. There's no shot at you. I like the play. Like, it was for sure a bullshit play.— you just run up and chuck the girl. But I'm all for that. I'm not the guy that's gonna come out here and be like, you shouldn't do that. No, no, no. What my point was is they should get an enforcer so that when you do that, somebody come club you. Because that's what should happen. Like, you don't get to just do something to Steph Curry. I'm sorry. I'll get thrown out 82 times. Like, you just don't get to, like, hit Steph. Like, that's not what we gonna do here. And by the way, Steph gonna stand up for himself. Ain't no, ain't no, I can't say the word I wanna say, but ain't none of that in my brother blood. He gonna stand up for himself anyway. But he ain't, and we ain't rolling. He ain't gotta do all that. And you ain't gonna do all that because you know what come with that. And that's simply what I was saying, Ms. Kennedy. Love what you did. I don't love how you went to the press conference and wouldn't answer a question about it, quite frankly. If you want to understand how this thing goes, I'll give you a little advice. You're going to take on the villain role, great, love it. You're going to be that enforcer on your team, great, love it. Can't dodge the questions. You go to the press conference, you answer the question. No, ain't no Kaitlin Clark. No, no, no, you did what you did, stand on it. That's all I'm saying. I go to the podium, I'm not gonna not answer a question about Rudy Gobert or whoever else. Stand on it. Stand on that. Thing happened with Youssef Nurkic. I'm gonna answer the question. You got to stand on it regardless of what your answer gonna be. You cannot hide from the question. Stand on what you did. You can't then run to Twitter like, and I said, like, no, no, no, no, no. They had a chance to ask you a question and you hid. Stand on what you say. Stand on what you do. That's my only gripe with what she did. So when you come calling out, we grown, we enforcers. Yeah, I'm gonna get a grown-ass enforcer to enforce on you if you touch Caitlin Clark like that. So to the Indiana Fever, again, you need to go get you someone with some muscle, somebody that's coming to the defense of Caitlin Clark. It shouldn't be Caitlin Clark. Don't tell me, "Oh, she got to be more physical." That ain't her job. Her job is to shoot threes. Hey Steph, shoot. I wish somebody would. Shoot. We gonna go there. By the way, don't mean I'm gonna win everything. May lose, but we gotta go there. You can't just put your hands on him. You can't just run him over like that. I'm sorry, ain't happening. No, it ain't got nothing to do with how tough he is. Steph is actually one of the tougher people I've ever been around. He ain't going there. Ain't going there. Gonna happen. That's why I'm doing— I'm— that's why I'm— that's one of the reasons I'm here. Not doing that. So to her, Kennedy, who's like enforcing, we grown, she better hoop, she gonna hoop. That's what she here to do, hoop, not go back and forth with you. Because you getting kicked out the game and Caitlin Clark getting kicked out the game, that's not an equal trade. Don't work. Caitlin Clark getting sidetracked, focused on you because you do make a play like that. Not an even trade. Don't work. What do work is though, we got this muscle over here and you about to get put down. That's how it just gotta be. So keep doing what you doing, Kennedy. I respect it. Stand on it. Next time you go to the press conference and you do something like that, Don't say, "Oh, my teammates know how hard-nosed I am." No, no, no, just stand on what you did. 'Cause when Angel jumped up like, "Yeah!" That was planned. We know that was planned. Y'all talked about that and all that. You did it, you followed through with it. So then stand on it. Just don't go to the press conference like, "I ain't answering no Caitlin Carr questions." 'Cause then you lose credibility. And that muscle and enforcer that you say your teammates respect about you takes a hit because you ain't stand on what you did. So there you have it, Kennedy. You wanna come at the boy enforcer who also like, it's cool like saying, I saw Draymond said enforce, like we ain't like, no, you ain't, don't like, see if you gonna really do this, you gotta like do it. Stand on business at all times. Draymond says something and Draymond gonna tweet blah, blah, blah. Don't be like, any enforcer comment like, nah, you gotta stand on what you do if you doing this. And also understand it ain't that pretty always. It's hard and it come with a lot of criticism and you can't start crying about your teammates know you that well. It don't work like that. So either you over here or you over there, pick one. In other news, or not in other news, but there's been this huge talk about Stephen A. Smith and Monica McNutt and the comment that she made. And quite frankly, I didn't think the comment was as great as the credit that it got because like the reality is, is I'm sure at some point or another Stephen A. has talked about the WNBA, but like, Let's not sit and like say, "Oh, you had the platform 3 years ago." Like at the end of the day, this is about TV ratings when you have a show. This is about putting eyeballs in front of that TV screen. And like, let's be honest, the WNBA right now is at an all-time high. It's a great conversation to have. It's fun TV. It's making waves. It's doing all of that. 3 years ago, it wasn't making those same waves. Yeah. So you can call somebody out and be like, you had the platform. I hate when people be like, you had the platform to do this. Like, one person don't make something go. The product has to do that. And I think the product is doing a better job of that. Yes, Caitlin Clark has something to do with that, a huge part to do with it. You crazy? All the eyeballs Caitlin Clark's bringing?

Yeah.

Of course she got something to do with that. Yes, Angel Reese has something to do with that. You crazy? Angel Reese has brought eyeballs to the game. I agree with what Angel Reese said. I don't quite agree with Angel Reese calling for the accolades and the flowers for herself, you know, let somebody else go say it. But you know what? I respect somebody standing on what they stand on. So Angel Reese got my respect. Whether you like what she say or not, she stand on what she stand on, and I can respect that. Yes, those— yes, Cameron Brink has added eyes. Yes, that draft class that just came in has added eyes to the WNBA. They added private flights. We can all say what we want to say. They ain't want Caitlin Clark walking through no airport. Yeah. Let's face it. Let's face it. They don't. Now, I'm not saying Caitlin Clark's the best thing since sliced bread. Quite frankly, if you want my opinion, that's A'ja Wilson. If you want my honest opinion, like, best thing since sliced bread in the WNBA to me is A'ja Wilson. So I don't, I'm not necessarily of the mindset that it's all Caitlin. Like, no, A'ja Wilson is great. And by the way, A'ja Wilson to me is the American dream. Come from a two-parent household, grew, got better. Young Black girl had everything against her, made it, defeated the— beat the odds to become what soon will be known as the greatest player to ever grace the WNBA. That's quite honestly my opinion. I think A'ja Wilson is as marketable as anybody in the WNBA, but you have to figure out how to market the product. By the way, go back to the old interviews I did. You have to figure out how to market the product. So yeah, I'm not gonna sit up here and act like Caitlin Clark ain't done nothing for the WNBA. That's bullshit. Yes, she has. She's gonna continue to. No, I'm not of the assumption of it's only her. I think y'all got a gold mine in the WNBA sitting right there, marketable as anybody in A'ja Wilson. And haven't figured out how to make it go. Ain't Asia fought, by the way. Ain't Asia fought. Asia got a lot about her that is as marketable as can be. And by the way, soon to be the best WNBA player to ever play. So including that, most importantly that, So that's kind of where I stand on it. It's like, I don't think the WNBA do a good enough job of marketing their product. I just don't. Don't do a good job storytelling. Starting to do better. But let's not act like the starting to do better isn't of the organic nature that is Caitlin Clark, that is Draymond Green, that is Angel Reese, what those girls have brought in this year. Yeah, they getting roughed up and all of that stuff. I also think it's crazy that the other WNBA players trying to act like they not roughing them up. Like, y'all are roughing them up. Stand on it. It is what it is. I get it. I get it. Stand on it though. Makes for better TV. Y'all talk about marketing the product, talk about what we want the product to be. That is great TV. Yeah, of course we roughing her up. Crazy, coming in here, huh? Pay your dues. We all had to pay dues. Gotta pay theirs too. I don't understand the hiding, like, "Oh, we not doing that. How dare y'all say that?" Yes, y'all are. Who cares? So? It's great. Go for it. Do it.

It sells.

It sells. And it's how it goes. You come in this league, you're a rookie, you don't get no respect. You earn that. It's been that way. So stop hiding from it. Stand on it. Everybody wanna duck and hide when it ain't so pleasant. All right, learn to market the product, 'cause the gold mine that is A'ja Wilson is right in your face. Period.

Yeah.

I told some friends of mine that I wasn't gonna respond to this and it's just kinda not Draymond. Like, Skip, everybody's skipping past Skip Bayless since Shannon left him. And he comes out and says he'll have me eating out of the palm of his hands if he come on the show. I am not coming on your show, Skip. I'm gonna keep skipping past you just like everybody else skipped on you, 'cause that show is dead. No one wants to hear you talk anymore. In the words of Richard Sherman, I am better than you. I'm better than you at life. I am just better than you. Skip and Skip, that's a wrap from this episode of the Draymond Green Show. Skip, you ain't never had one of these. One of these? Or any of these. Let's see. What's that? That's All-NBA Second Team. Oh! What's that? All-NBA Defensive First Team. Yeah, Skip. We don't respect you. You need more people. It's a wrap. Peace. Peace.