Getty Warriors star Draymond Green
The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors will meet in the Western Conference Semifinals and Draymond Green knows it’s going to be a challenge to face the purple and gold.
After the Warriors eliminated the Sacramento Kings in the first round, Green went on his podcast to talk about the Lakers, who defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in their first-round matchup.
“They’re playing very good basketball,” Green said. “D’Angelo (Russell) at the point, Austin Reaves — whichever one you consider the point guard — they both have a lot of ball-handling responsibilities. Austin Reaves has been playin’ lights out for the past two and a half months. D’Angelo Russell found his stroke those last couple games against Memphis. Rui Hachimura has been playin’ great basketball. Jarred Vanderbilt, swiss army knife, does it all. Obviously, you got LeBron James at the four, goes without saying. Anthony Davis at the five, goes without saying. Troy Brown comin’ off the bench. Rui’s been comin’ off the bench as well, giving these guys great minutes. Malik Beasley comin’ in shootin’. Hadn’t found his stroke, but he’s a shooter and you gotta respect that, and at any moment, you know he can get goin’.”
The Warriors will have home-court advantage against the Lakers in the second round. Los Angeles went 3-1 versus Golden State during the regular season.
Draymond Green on the Lakers: ‘They Are a Complete Team’
The Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference after the trade deadline. Los Angeles reshaped its roster in February, parting ways with Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant and acquiring Russell, Vanderbilt, Beasley, Mo Bamba and Davon Reed (who was waived in April).
“They are a complete team,” Green said. “The vibes around the team is great. They play a really good brand of basketball. They defend. They present some challenges on the offensive end as well. It’ll be up to us to meet that force with force. You know they’re gonna rebound the basketball. They’ve done that incredibly well.”
The Lakers beat the Grizzlies in six games in the first round. James, who will face the Warriors for the fifth time in his career in the playoffs (first time outside of the NBA Finals), averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists versus Memphis. Meanwhile, Davis put up 20.8 points, 13.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game.
Draymond Green: ‘This Series Against the Lakers Is Going to Be Epic’
Green told reporters after the Warriors won Game 7 against the Kings that the Dubs-Lakers series “is going to be epic.”
“This series against the Lakers is going to be epic,” Green said. “You got Steph (Curry), you got Bron doing it all over again. We’ve never played against the Lakers in a playoff series, we get to experience that. I mean, it’s a ton of little things going on.”
Green and the Warriors are 3-1 against James in the NBA Finals. Golden State won the title in 2015, 2017 and 2018 over LeBron when he was on the Cleveland Cavaliers. James and Davis are looking to win their second championship together and they will have to upset the defending champions in the semifinals to get one step closer to their goal.