Getty Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green and Russell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Golden State Warriors are right in the middle of the “Wild Western Conference,” with the first round of the NBA Playoffs in full swing. There are plenty of fantastic storylines to follow, including Golden State’s thrilling matchup with the Sacramento Kings, as well as the resurgence of Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook has been putting together a respectable effort, despite the Clippers 3-1 deficit to the Phoenix Suns.
Warriors star Draymond Green has had enough of people disrespecting the former MVP. On the most recent episode of his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” the 33-year-old unleashed a NSFW rant, demanding respect for Westbrook.
“I’m so f—— tired of people disrespecting Russ… Russell Westbrook is an MVP… Russell Westbrook is a legend… Russell Westbrook is a hall of famer, stop disrespecting that man like he’s not him.”
Through four games, Westbrook has averaged 26 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists, while both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard have been sidelined (Leonard played Games 1 and 2) with respective injuries. The star guard has gotten his buckets efficiently too, knocking down 46% of his attempts from the field and 40.9% from deep.
Russ and the Clippers will fight to keep their season alive on Tuesday night, when they take on the Suns in Game 5.
Draymond Green Discusses Coming Off Warriors’ Bench in Game 4
Green played a huge part in Golden State’s Game 4 win over the Kings. He made some massive stops in crunch time, including a big rejection on Domantas Sabonis.
WHAT A SEQUENCE 😱
The 33-year-old’s impact was made off the bench, rather than in his traditional role as a starter. He explained to reporters after the game, that he’d discussed the role change with head coach Steve Kerr, after watching his teammates gel in Game 3.
“When I watch basketball, I’m studying,” Green explained via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “And I studied that game. And I saw what was working, and we won. So, I’m a firm believer in, if something isn’t broke, you don’t fix it. And our offense was rolling, and we played good defensively. Really good defensively. So, I didn’t want to come back and just shake things up because I’m back. That’s not right. Jordan [Poole] went out there. He played well. We played well. He earned it. And our team earned that.”
Steve Kerr Discusses Draymond Green Change In Warriors Win
Green’s shift in role was a focal point during both his and Kerr’s postgame availabilities. The Warriors coach took time to explain that Green had come to him and suggested the change, following Friday’s Game 3 win.
“He had not come off the bench in 10 years, since before I was coaching,” Kerr said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “But he came to me immediately after Game 3. He drove back to the arena and was in my office and he walked in and said, ‘What do you think about me coming off the bench?’ I had been thinking about it already because of the way Sacramento was guarding us, and just getting another shooter on the floor.”