Draymond Green is used to going head-to-head with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In each of the last three seasons, Green’s Warriors have faced off against Cleveland with an NBA championship on the line, so Green has spent a lot of time the last few years paying attention to how the team operates.
Green is also one of the sharpest basketball minds in the league and is good at candidly laying out his thoughts on things that occur on the hardwood. For proof of this, look no further than the interview he gave to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports in which he broke down some of the issues that he has seen in Cleveland this season.
Amick asked Green his thoughts on the Cavaliers so far, to which he responded that LeBron James and co. are “struggling.” When asked if he believes their issues should lead to fans panicking, Green explained how it was more complex than a yes-or-no answer, and pointed to how the team isn’t 100 percent healthy and LeBron’s workload as ways to make both sides of the argument. Additionally, he pointed out what he believes are “glaring concerns” that the team faces right now.
To a certain extent yes. And to a certain extent, no. I don’t think anyone should be panicking 12 games in, or 13 games in. However, there are some glaring concerns with them. And at the same time, you’re missing a 30-point (per game) player (in Thomas) on the bench who’s hurt. So my concern would be that LeBron is playing so many minutes right now (James, in his 15th season, is leading the league in minutes at 38.1 per game; it’s his highest mark since the 2010-11 season).
“Yeah, he’s super human but eventually his super human powers go away, so that would be more of my concern if I’m a Cavs fan or somebody with the Cavs or a player, is like ‘Man, he’s been playing a lot of 40 minute (nights) and it’s only Nov. 12.’ But I wouldn’t be pressing the panic button just yet. At the end of the day, they know how to win. They’ve got a guy who knows how to win, so I wouldn’t necessarily press the panic button. I would see certain things and I would panic about those certain things, just because…I don’t think nobody should be playing 40 minutes a game in November (James has played 40-plus minutes in six of his 14 games).
LeBron’s workload is something that comes up all the time — despite being 32, he’s rapidly climbing up the list of regular season minutes played. He is 25th in NBA history with 41,806 minutes, and that doesn’t include his career pre/postseason minutes or any of the time he has spent suiting up for USA Basketball. He obviously takes care of his body, and people like to joke that LeBron is a cyborg with how he’s managed to stay healthy for essentially his entire time in the league, but the whole “father time is undefeated” thing is looming large over his career.
Green is still correct in that the jury is still kind of out on the Cavaliers until Thomas makes his way back onto the floor. LeBron has mentioned that getting Thomas healthy is the kind of thing that could allow him to take his foot off the gas at times, and while less of the best player in the world is generally not a great thing, no one would be surprised if his minutes dip a little when Thomas comes back and spike when the playoffs roll around.
(Via USA Today Sports)
