Draymond Green Is Already Questioning ‘How Serious’ The Rockets Are On Defense

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Everyone realizes that the Golden State Warriors are an unbelievable offensive team. That is the nature of a club that deploys Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson at the same time with fantastic supporting pieces in Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and even Draymond Green. Some overlook just how dominant the Warriors can be on the defensive end, but Green doesn’t usually hesitate to remind both the media and Golden State’s direct competition.

On Monday, Mark Medina of The Mercury News caught up with Green through the prism of discussing the Houston Rockets. Many believe that the Rockets, with Chris Paul on board, are the biggest challenger to the Warriors in the West and Green credited Rockets GM Daryl Morey with being “a man of his word” and taking “some risks” in getting Paul and bolstering Houston’s roster.

With that said, Green’s public comments were soon followed by a reminder from a media member of a quote that Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni gave earlier this month.

In reaction to that particular comment and the concept of Houston simply looking to outscore the high-powered Warriors, Green said the following:

“I don’t know how serious they take defense with that comment but they added some good defensive players.”

“They want it to be a shoot out, which is fine. But we’re going to play some defense. We scored pretty well. But we’re a damn good defensive team too. So we’re going to play some defense.”

These comments may be fairly tame by Green’s legendary trash-talking standards but, at the same time, he is openly questioning a chief competitor’s commitment to defense after that team added an elite defensive point guard (and future Hall of Famer) in Chris Paul. In some ways, Green… also might be right.

Last season, the Warriors finished second in the NBA in allowing 101.1 points per 100 possessions defensively and, in the playoffs, Golden State bested the competition over 17 games by allowing only 102. 8 points per 100 against only top-shelf competition. In contrast, the Rockets were more than four points worse than the Rockets (107.1) during the playoffs and more than five points worse (106.4) over the course of the 82-game schedule.

Moreover, the Rockets replaced their best defender, Patrick Beverley, with what can only be described as a minor defensive upgrade in Paul. Yes, Houston improved by leaps and bounds (at least on paper) offensively with Paul at the helm but D’Antoni’s comments and his overall reputation just might speak to the fact that the team isn’t ready to guard at the same level as the Warriors.

In truth, no team in the NBA is as good as the peak Warriors on either end of the floor and that is a terrifying proposition. Still, the Rockets not prioritizing defense, at least in public, might not be the greatest strategy and neither is poking the bear that is the league’s dominant team.

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