Draymond Green breaks down defense vs. Kawhi Leonard in Warriors' play-in win
Warriors forward Draymond Green speaks to reporters after Golden State's 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome.
Draymond Green breaks down defense vs. Kawhi Leonard in Warriors' play-in win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
You guys have, you guys have obviously played in and won huge games through the years.
What is it about this game that seems to mean so much to so many people right now?
I think, you know, coming into the year, we thought we had a pretty good shot at it.
good team, roster that kind of covers all the things that you need to cover on a roster, and it unfortunately just hasn't gone that way for us.
A lot of injuries, but, you know, one thing we've always hung our hats on is not being front runners.
you know, it's, it's easy when everything's going right to be upbeat, to believe, but who are you when everything goes wrong?
And I think for us, I think that's what's mo-more motivating than anything.
You know, it's just like, yo, everything that has could go wrong has gone wrong this year.
and yet we still have a chance.
So what do you do with that chance?
And, you know, when you have a leader like Steve Kerr, who always knows the right thing to say, when you have a leader like Steph Curry, that you can always rally around, that you know he's gonna be there, giving everything he got and, and also one of the greatest players we've ever seen.
When, when you're following two guys like that, things like this are possible.
Steve kind of came up here and was basically saying, you know, this is why Steph came back and, and for the people who, you know, question if it was a good idea considering the season.
what's it like, you know, watching what he went through the last few months, you know, end in a moment like this?
yes, I mean, you know, watching what he was going through was tough because you knew all, all he wanted was to be out there.
you know, he's coming in every single day, putting the work in, and for a nice amount of time, not getting the results, you know?
And most people would quit, especially when you're in a position like that.
You know, you, you leave and team's in what?
Seventh spot, whatever it was, and you come back and we're in tenth, and we're locked in tenth.
most people would just be like, "Ah, I'm gonna get myself right and I'll do it again next year," but that's never who he's been, and that's why this organization has been able to go from being the worst to first.
Because when you have a guy like that, that the only thing that matters is the next day, not the next year, not just the next day, everyone else fall in line, you know?
And everyone else, you have a responsibility, because of the responsibility that he takes on every day.
And so, you know, Steve was right.
you know, this is why he wanted to get back because when he's on the floor, you always have a chance.
Draymond, what, what did you What was the What'd you do to stop, to slow down Kawhi tonight?
I just tried to play, really, you know, tried not to give him much space.
you know, try to make him take tough shots.
and then my teammates were incredible.
you know, when you're, when you're guarding a player like Kawhi, it's not a one-man job.
if, if, if you think it's a one-man job, I'll see you after your game when he got forty-five.
You know, it's, it's that's just not, what it's ever gonna be.
Any great player, and Kawhi is one of the greatest in our league, you know?
And so, I just Number one, I, I, I wanted to try to limit the shots he gets, you know, 'cause thing about Kawhi, man, you, you think you got him stopped, and he's, he's so balanced, so he can always raise up into his shot.
And you're not blocking his shot because it's, it's high, he, he jumps, and he gets it off fast.
Like, so for me, I wanted to try to limit the amount of shots that he could get as opposed to thinking I'm gonna stop every shot that he takes.
That's not, that's not realistic.
and, you know, I was able to You know, he took seventeen shots.
I like that, you know, because in a situation like this, you know, I know he's probably looking to take twenty-plus shots, but if I can just get him to not take three or four more shots, you know, that's, that's probably With, with the efficiency that he plays with, that's stopping ten more points, you know, if I can get him to take three or four less shots.
And so I think that was just my focus, like try not to let him get to a spot where he can t-raise up and take the shot because once he get to that spot, there's nothing anyone in this league can do, when Kawhi Leonard gets to his spots.
Do you savor these moments, like knowing where you guys are at this point in your career?
I do, because, A, you don't know how, how many more you have, but, but even aside from that, I savor the moments of being able to play great players, you know?
it's an honor to play against a, a great, all-time great like Kawhi Leonard, you know?
And as a competitor, you just wanna do your best, you know?
Not every day do I get to go home and say, "Yo, I p-I played Kawhi Leonard tonight."
Like, you know, he, he's a special, special player, and he's a worker, you know?
And I got the utmost respect for Kawhi Leonard, you know?
So as much as it is about our organization and, you know, taking advantage of these moments, you know, and appreciating the moment, I appreciate playing against the all-time greats, and Kawhi Leonard is one of the greatest our league has seen.Draymond, we were just talking to Kawhi a minute ago, and he said, I quote, of you, "Hall of Fame defender.
It was hard to even get shots up."
A, what does that mean to you that he called you that?
And B, how did you prepare for this?
Did you-- I mean, you've played him since he was on the Spurs, right?
You defended him so many times.
Did you go back and watch all those other games, or how did, how did you prepare for this, or is it just ingrained in you?
you know, when you've played someone so many times like we have, you know, he know me, I know him.
but I definitely watch a lot of film.
but more so of him this year because it's a different Kawhi.
You know, the aggressiveness.
His shot is as good as it's ever been.
His ball handling is as good as it's ever been.
to hear, one of the greats say that about me, like, man, that's special.
You know, that's, that's why you do it, you know, 'cause you want, you want respect from, from your peers, you know.
And Kawhi just, he, he, he's no, he's, he's not just no ordinary peer.
Again, he's one of the greats, you know.
And so to hear him say that about me, man, that guy took a Defensive Player of the Year award away from me, like .
And, and to s- you know, to say that about me, like, that's, that means a lot.
It means a lot because, you know, he's a man of few words, you know.
but, but when he speaks, it's loud, you know, because he doesn't speak much, you know.
And the res- I don't think there's a player in the NBA that does not respect Kawhi Leonard.
You know, he's, he's a special guy, so to hear him-- I'm grateful, to hear him say that about me because ultimately you just want the respect of your peers, and I'm v- very thankful for that.
Draymond, when Al, when Al was up here, he said that you and Steph were encouraging him down the stretch when he was hitting all those threes.
What was your message for him during that?
we need-- He's one of our better shooters on his team.
We need you shooting the ball.
You open, let it ride, and that's, that's always our message.
And, and then more importantly, we're looking for him.
You know, this isn't like, "Oh, a mistake, he caught the ball."
No, that's, that's one of the guys we're looking for to, to shoot that, you know.
And so, you know, they had Kawhi guarding me and Brook Lopez on him.
They didn't switch the matchup, which then allows Steph to come off of Brook Lopez and get the three, right?
So that's all Al Horford's doing, right?
And, you know, we were excited as hell to get him, in, in free agency, and you see why.
You know, he's been, he's been incredible, and obviously he's dealt with some injuries, but man, it's great to have him on our side.
Hey, Dray.
given how hard this season was, given that you guys are no longer in your twenties, how much did the championship DNA that you and Steph share matter tonight on a game like this?
and Al, you know, KP, you know, GP, right?
Like, it matters a lot because you get in these situations and, and it's, it's nothing you've, you haven't seen before.
You know, like, if you've won a championship, you've probably seen just about anything because it requires you to go so much to, to, to ultimately accomplish that.
And for us, you know, we leaned on each other.
You know, I think so oftentimes when people don't understand what it's like to go through something with a team and accomplish it with that team, oftentimes in situations like this, people splinter.
And when they splinter, that's-- everything starts seeping through the cracking and you fold, right?
We all leaned on each other, and that's what, you know, you understand in those moments is like that's the wrong time to start doing it yourself.
That's the wrong time to, you know, believe that or not have belief in the guy next to you.
Like, that's the time where you gotta have the utmost belief in the guy next to you.
Know that, "All right, he rolling with me," you know?
And so, to have that, the, the experience that we've all had in winning championships plays a big role in a night like tonight, you know, where you all, you know, everything's on the table, and you gotta get it done by any means necessary.
I think tonight we was able to lean on that.
to follow on that a little bit, the Steph's go-ahead bucket, this classic two-man game with you guys.
How do you describe the trust and the chemistry that you guys have to execute like that on the fly in a situation like this after all these years?
Well, I tell y'all all the time, man, Steph's one of the smartest players, and he don't get credit for it because he's so good.
You know, he shoots the ball as better than anyone.
He dribbles the ball as good as anyone, you know.
and so oftentimes people don't value his IQ.
But right in that moment, if you go back and watch, when he makes a sign, he, and he does something, I'm like, "Okay, I got it."
And we went right into that action.
he knew it would work, and he called it right there.
If you see, I'm running up, I look at him, he does something.
Gotcha.
And it's just my job to, to get up and get him the ball back, you know?
And he did the rest.
I was gassed, so I didn't even crash for the board, but I knew it was good anyway.
It was But you know, that's 14 years, man.
Like, that don't happen overnight.
You know, that's, that's a lot of trial and error.
And then, and then most importantly, our coach got the utmost confidence in us to figure it out, and he put us in great positions to be able to figure it out.
Hey, Dr- Draymond, when you're talking about the group not being a frontrunner, with Steph's resiliency, not just with coming back, but fighting through a tough start and having the game he had, what do you think that does to set the tone for the rest of the group?
Well, it, it does everything to set the tone because when, when the head of the snake is locked in like that and everything's going wrong for him, and he stay dialed in and continue to push forward-I mean, no one else, you're not allowed to drop your head.
You're gonna watch this guy who has nothing to play for.
Like, if, if he go home today, he's Steph Curry.
Like, nothing's changing that.
but you watch him go through what he's going through.
You watch him, deal with the, the tough start, and his head is held high, you know, and the next shot in his mind is his best shot.
Well, everybody else feeds off that, you know?
And so, man, he's just I'm blessed to have played with him for fourteen years.
He's special, special guy, special player.
and that's why he's been the face of this organization, and the organization has done this.
All right.
Two more.
Ron and What-- A couple people have said Al and Kristaps, as well as they played, you expect that 'cause they've been in big games, right?
Absolutely.
But how mean- but how meaningful is it to see similar contributions from Brandon and Gee tonight in this setting?
Huge, because they haven't been in this situation.
Gee hasn't.
BP has played some, some playoff minutes, but, you know, not, not being depended on, you know.
And tonight, you know, he was depended on, and early in the game when nobody else could get it going, he was the one that got it going, you know.
He got us some key buckets to kinda break the ice, and when he plays with that type of confidence, he's a really good basketball player.
And Gee Santos, you know, we've all watched the evolution and growth, you know, of Gee and, you know, for both of those guys to step up in a moment like this, it says everything about who they are.
It says everything about their character and their confidence, because this isn't an easy situation.
You're talking one game that you have, and if you lose, it's over, and both of those guys came in, you know, played great basketball, gave us huge lifts and, you know, and, we needed every single one of them.
Draymond, I, I know you said this is obviously a team effort slowing down Kawhi, but, I think, you know, some people when, when, whether it was personnel or injuries, they say maybe Draymond has lost a little bit of a step this year defensively.
I'm curious, when you go into a matchup like this, how much do you just think about, you know, maybe proving people, pr-proving that you still have got it, especially at this level, given, you know, you, you have the accolades, you have all that already, but just going out there and still proving that you've got it and, and are able to perform like this?
there will never be a person that I will want to prove more to than myself.
the same people that say I lost a step said I never had a step.
You know, they're the same people that said I would never make it, and I should be out the NBA, and I'm I ride a coattail, and the list goes on and on.
Those are the same people.
I-- You know?
Like, eh.
So ultimately, when you step on the floor, this, this is competition.
You know, you wanna be your best, you know.
If you don't bring your best against Kawhi Leonard, you get embarrassed fast, you know?
And I, the last two days have had the fear, lived with the fear of getting embarrassed because I know the matchup that's ahead of me, you know?
And so with that, you, you lean on your preparation, you know, and I've prepared for these moments, you know.
I think I still got a lot left in the tank, you know, and I'll continue to show that, you know.
But like I said, it's more about proving it to myself than anyone else.
As long as, as long as I can prove something to me, I know my expectations are way higher than everyone else's.
So if I can prove me right, it's a piece of cake proving everybody else right.
All right.
One last one.
Or proving everybody else wrong.
Anthony, last one.
I don't-- I think tonight didn't technically count for awards, but, do you feel like you kinda made a, an all-defensive type statement?
Yeah, I mean, I think if you watch me play defense all year, I, I make this statement pretty often, but they can take that one to the bank.
That was a, that was an elite one right there.
I, you know, so if you need something to stamp it, there it go.
