Draymond Green breaks down what separates playoff teams from champions: fewer weaknesses, fewer mistakes, protecting leads, and winning on the road. He shares a story about a crucial block on Jaren Jackson in a Warriors-Grizzlies game and advises a young guard to develop a reliable jump shot and take pride in defense.
Questions this video answers
Playoff teams have big weaknesses, make more mistakes, lose big leads, and rarely win on the road. Championship teams have fewer big weaknesses, make fewer mistakes, protect leads, win the games they’re supposed to win, and can win on the road.
I like the look right now and am rolling with it. I might dye it later, but I haven’t decided yet; my wife’s opinion also factors in.
Focus on developing a reliable jump shot, take pride in defense, work on ball‑handling, and be a leader on the floor. Those skills are essential for advancing to the next level.
Chapters
Jaxson, let's get a couple mailbag questions. You got something for me?
I do. Um, not a lot of basketball stuff tonight because I figured we'll do one basketball question, then we'll do some kind of fun, more fun stuff. Uh, from MJ Velasco, @velascoamj, from your POV, what separates a playoff team from a championship team?
Uh, playoff team. Playoff teams get to the playoffs, they make a lot of mistakes. Um, they, but playoff teams usually have like really big weaknesses. Championship teams don't have really big weaknesses. As they go along, they make less mistakes. They don't give up big leads. They win the games that they're supposed to win and they go on the road and win games that they're not supposed to win. That's championship teams. Playoff teams lose games that they supposed to win. They never win on the road. Those are some of the differences, key differences playoff teams and championship teams.
From Rick Conant, @caprecord_1978, are you gonna let the snow cap on your chin grow out or are you gonna color it?
I am not. I don't know yet. I'm not gonna say never and then y'all hold me to that. But I like it. I rock with it, man. That's, you know, that's, You go through life, man. Number one, I have a very, I play a very high stress sport. Testosterone levels are, you know, you're like, and so that adds to it. I think that's a part of the reason you see like guys in the NBA go bald fast and like, you gotta think about the ups and the downs, like that's crazy spikes. And so, I rock with it. My wife liked it. But sometimes she'd be like, "Nah, you think you wanna dye it?" So I don't know, ultimately Hazel gonna decide if I'mma darken it up or if I'm just gonna roll with it. But I'm rolling with it right now, baby. I'm rolling.
All right, last one from Luca @luca24990629. What advice do you have for a 16-year-old, 6'1" guard trying to make it big? I think you can sort of take this for just all sort of basketball players that age trying to make it to the next level.
Uh, well, I mean, I think as a 16-year-old guard, number one is you should be working on your jump shot as you see how important shooting the ball is in this league. And I think you should, take pride in defense, the defensive end. There are so many guards today that don't take pride in that end. And ultimately it catches up to you. And I think not being a mismatch on the floor and taking pride on that side of the ball, it means something. And especially as a guard, like you want your guys to know like, all right, this guy's gonna compete on that side of the ball. And, and that's a part of being a leader. You know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
You know, and so I think shooting the ball well, take pride on the defensive end, and then obviously don't be a guard that can't dribble the basketball. If you can't dribble the basketball, there is a cap on how good you can be at basketball if you can't dribble. So work on your handle, know how to handle pressure, Work on your jump shot and play some God beep defense. I'm working on cursing. Jaren Jackson was having an absolutely incredible game. We couldn't get a stop. Otto couldn't get a stop. Klay couldn't get a stop. I couldn't get a stop. None of us could get a stop on Jaren Jackson in the second half. Down the stretch, they went to him. He drove left across the middle of the paint. He misses, Steph Curry gets the rebound, knocks 2 free throws down, we go up 98 to 95. We get another stop. They go back to Draymond for the 3. I get a block. And for the lip readers out there, I simply said, "Don't do that for game. Don't. He's having a great game, but don't go at me for game. I don't like that." It's disrespectful. You know, and the reality is, somebody go at you for game sometimes, and they go the opposite way. I can take it all the way back to Andre Miller gaming me in the playoffs my rookie year. But I don't like that. Don't go at me for game. And they did. And I understand. Jaren had it going, no job. Yeah. Dylan Brooks was having a pretty rough night. They go to their guy. I totally get it. Incredible, incredible performance by Jaren. He's been incredible all series, actually. But I had to do what I'm paid to do. And that's come up with big-time stops and big-time moments. Mm-hmm.
