Draymond Green Q&A: Are the Warriors really dominant, and what's wrong with LeBron's Cavs?

Sam Amick | USA TODAY

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OAKLAND – Draymond Green, never at a loss for words, sat down with USA TODAY Sports this week to discuss not only his surging Golden State Warriors but those archrival Cleveland Cavaliers.

On one side of the NBA ledger, the 11-3 defending champions have won seven consecutive games by an average of 19.8 points while boasting the league’s best offense (116.2 points scored per 100 possessions) and the 7th-best defense (101.8 points allowed per 100). On the other, where the revamped Cavaliers have been working in seven new players while waiting for new point guard Isaiah Thomas to recover from his hip injury and make his debut, the 7-7 Cavs have been the league’s worst defensive squad by a long shot (111.1 points allowed per 100; Dallas is 29th at 108.7) while leaning ever-so heavily on LeBron James.

Green, whose Warriors have a different kind of Eastern Conference challenge on Thursday night when they face the 13-2 Boston Celtics team that Warriors coach Steve Kerr dubbed “the team of the future in the East,” put on his scouting hat for this conversation about the two teams that have met an unprecedented three consecutive times in the Finals. The Cavs and Warriors don't face off until a Christmas Day game at Oracle Arena.

Q: So you guys are rolling in a crazy way, and it was only a couple weeks ago when you talked about fatigue and caring about winning and now you look like the best team on the planet again. The Cavs have been scuffling. The Celtics are rolling. How do you see it?

A: “Uh, I think we're still getting better. I don't think we're far and away the best squad on the planet. What I do see is that we have the potential to be that, but I see so many things that we need to improve on that it's just funny that everyone thinks we're rolling to me right now, because right now I don't think we're rolling. I think we're playing OK.

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Q: I mean, six wins by 17-plus points (before they beat Orlando by 10 on Monday)?

A: “And that's cool, and that's why I think we have potential to be the best team on the planet. But however, I see so many things that we can correct, and can be so much better at. For instance, turnovers. (Against Philadelphia) we scored 135 points and we had 22 turnovers (actually 23)... It's too many. So all of a sudden, (if they had) 14 turnovers. Now the difference between that being 14 turnovers is now you take 10 points away from them. And with six more shots, say we make two of them. That's five more points for us but that's also 10 more points that we took away from them. Who knows what that could have done for us?

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Q: You’ve talked about the fatigue of three straight Finals appearances a lot so far, and the reality is that June is a long ways away. How do you handle the marathon aspect of this after doing it three times?

A: “We look at that. We talk about it all the time. But at the end of the day, you've got to play the schedule. And you've got to try to get better. I think what people fail to realize is that winning a championship is a process. And the reason you don't see teams repeat is because winning a championship is an eight-month process. It's not a two-month run or whatever it is. It's not a two-month run, it's an eight or nine-month process. And when you skip over that process, thinking 'Oh man, we've just got to get to the playoffs, and we'll be fine,' You miss the process of getting better each and every day.”

Q: Shout-out Cavs?

A: “Right? And so once you miss that process, and now all of a sudden you think, 'Oh, it's that time and we're just going to turn it on,' then something happens and you just don't finish it. And so what I'm moreso concerned about is that, yeah, we know at the end of the day that it's a long season, and you've got to somewhat pace yourself. But at the end of the day you've still got to go through that process. And I think we're doing a good job of that now as opposed to the first five or six games.

Q: What’s your two cents on the Cavs?

A: “Uh, they're struggling.”

Q: Would you be panicking if you were one of their fans?

A: “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).

Q: That's his call though, right?

A: “I don't know who it is. But at the end of the day, if he's doing it he's doing it for a reason. He's not just doing it because (he wants to). That's tough. That's tough mentally also. That would be more of my concern over them not playing well. Like, (expletive), it's Game 13. Who cares who's playing well? Also, you could be playing great in Game 13 and by Game 30 you could be some (terrible team).”

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