Draymond Green claps back at Lillard after dominant win

Draymond Green responded to Damian LIllard’s comments about the Warriors’ apparently weakened defense.

Draymond Green generally gets the last word. He’s a talker that won’t be out done. He’s a competitor with too much pride to let himself go down without a fight.

Damian Lillard tried to come at the Golden State Warriors, but he fell short. Before the game, the Trailblazers’ point guard decided to comment on the new-look Warriors’ defense. He told CSNNW’s Jason Quick:

"“It’s not the same. They are a great offensive team and I think they will still be a good defensive team, but it’s different than when (Andrew) Bogut is not back there. It’s just not the same…Watching their game against New Orleans, watching their game against Phoenix — both teams attacked the paint a lot. They were attacking rim, attacking the rim, and it kept both teams in the game, so we have to do the same thing….I feel confident in my ability to attack whoever, but in a lot of those plays, Draymond likes to help from the weakside … and I saw him sprinting to (Mason Plumlee) to deny, which meant nobody was in the paint. I was taking advantage of that….It’s different when you don’t have a guy like Andrew Bogut in that paint. He controlled that paint really well for them on the backside of that defense, so (in that preseason game) I felt good about getting to the rim.”"

It’s a pretty big quote so if you didn’t get through it all here’s the gist of it: the Warriors’ once-mighty defense anchored by Andrew Bogut cannot retain the high level of play with Draymond Green as the anchor.

After those comments, the Warriors played their best defensive game of the season. The Blazers managed just 104 points, but 31 of them came in the fourth quarter when the game had been decided and the benches had been emptied. It was the type of dominant defensive showing that we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Golden State.

Green had 2 blocks and 3 steals. Kevin Durant had 1 block and 4 steals. Davis West had 1 block and 1 steal.  Ian Clark had 3 steals. Steph Curry had 1 steal. Shaun Livingston had 2 steals. And the team, as a whole, had countless deflections and tips.

So, of course, Green had to say something back.

He said he thinks that “some opinions will change sooner than later” about the team’s defensive prowess. He added that “I love when people say stuff like that” because he takes it personally and it fuels him. He even encouraged opponents to continue to do so.

The Warriors have pages of bulletin board material dating back several years now. Never before as a champion ever been as disrespected as the 2015 Golden State Warriors. Green is no stranger to being overlooked and undervalued. He clearly thrives off comments like that. He clapped back beautifully without ever even saying Lillard’s name.

No word yet on if Dame Dolla is going to go into the studio and comment on Green’s rebuttal.