Smith’s Scathing Attack: Draymond Green Faces National Humiliation
The Golden State Warriors have been on a heater since the NBA All-Star break. Coming into Monday night’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets, they were 11-1 in their last 12 games.
Their hot streak began right after forward Draymond Green boldly declared that they were going to win a championship this season.
“I think we’re going to win the championship,” Green told the TNT crew before the All-Star Game. “I’m sorry. I said I think we’re going to win a championship, but I lied. We are going to win the championship.”
Fast-forward to Monday night, when the Warriors hosted a Nuggets team that played without stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Despite being shorthanded, Denver beat Golden State 114-105.
That led to Stephen A. Smith going on ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday morning to call out Green for his comments.
“Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, Shannon [Sharpe], Chiney [Ogwumike], I get that. My eyes are on Draymond Green,” Smith said. “Who the person that went on national television during All-Star Weekend and guaranteed the championship? Who’s that? That wasn’t Steph. That wasn’t Jimmy. That’s Draymond. You understand?”
Smith then shifted the conversation to Green’s shooting ability, noting that if he can knock down shots consistently, the Warriors could be a dangerous threat and pull off an upset in the Western Conference.
“If Draymond is making open shots,” Smith added. “I understand that Shay [Shannnon Sharpe], but what I’m saying is I’m not talking about all of a sudden you changing strategy because of course he’s not a shooter but what I’m saying is if you don’t guard him and you leave him open and he hits those shots, it changes everything because then they can upset somebody in the Western Conference. So that man that opened his mouth and guaranteed the championship. It’s literally on him because I know what Jimmy Butler’s gonna do we know what playoff Jimmy is all about we know what Steph Curry is all about but if Draymond makes shots it’s a different ball game but he got to do it. So it’s on him a lot of it and we got to remember that.”
Heading into Tuesday night’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, Green has shot 43.6% from the field. From beyond the arc, he’s up to 33.5%—the third-best three-point percentage of his 13-year NBA career.
It’s also worth noting that Green scored 10 points against Denver, shooting 5-of-6 from the field, missing his only three-point attempt.
Jaire…
