The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Draymond Green Show - Finals Game 4 Reaction

Episode Date: June 10, 2023

Draymond Green discusses the Denver Nuggets beating the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals to take a 3-1 lead. Produced by: Jackson Safon #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. Just a reminder, you can catch me recording this podcast live on AMP. Amp is a new live radio app that lets you call in and chat with me in person while I'm recording. Get the app on Apple's App Store and make sure to follow me at at Draymond Green to get notified when I go live. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green show. You're 223 NBA champion, Denver Nuggets. has been crowned.

If you watch that game, and it did not look to you as if the Denver Nuggets have won a championship, I don't know what you were watching. And by the way, not in a disrespectful way. Like, not that they're looking past the next win

that they need to get. None of the rah-rah, they sleep. No, I told y'all this entire city, Denver has been finishing their breakfast. And last night, these last two games was another example of that. They're finishing their breakfast.

They're not playing with their food. You start off one one at home. And listen, that's a very common NBA finals thing to let one get away at home. It happened with us last year. I can recall twice that that happened with us with the calves in our finals runs, if I'm not mistaken.

It's a very common. common thing to happen. You got two great teams playing in the NBA finals. That's just what boils down to. You can say what you want about the Miami Heat and they don't have this and they don't have that. They've beat every team that you said was great and are in the NBA finals. So you have great teams that end up in the NBA finals. They probably are, they're probably capable of going on the road and winning one. And so that's what happened. In Denver and what has proven to be true Denver fashion in these playoffs,

finished day breakfast. No panic. We're going to go to Miami. We're not going to Miami to win the game. We're actually going to go to Miami and win two games and take entire control of this series. Not get it back, home court, two to two. No, no, no.

We're going to go to Miami. And by the way, leave no doubt. First game in game three, we're up 20 points, not playing well. Second game, which is game four, Joker's in foul trouble, all the things. Jamar Murray's not having a great shoe tonight.

Okay. Christian Braun is not having a night that he had before in game three. Okay. Fine. Joker's not having his typical dominant night. 23 and 12 is actually in Forest is very pedestrian for Joker, which is crazy to think.

But that's a very, very, very pedestrian night for Joker. No big deal. And they just win. Like at no point where you're watching that game, like, oh, Denver's probably going to lose this game. And we'll get into the specifics of how it all happened. But ladies and gentlemen, you're a 2023 NBA champion. The Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets beat the heat. And like I said, I told you what Joker had. I thought, if you remember, I was discussing the pick and roll with you with Joker and Bam. And initially, if you watched, Bam kept getting strung out. And when I say strung out, that means Jamar Murray is pulling Bam further and further. away from Joker in the pick and roll coverage. And a couple times you see it looked like they wanted to switch and it was kind of botched. And then a couple of times you see they trapped.

To me, what it looked like their game plan was was to mix it up on their pick and roll coverages and not give them a steady diet. And I can understand that when you're playing against great players in this league. If you give them a steady diet of anything, they normally figure it out. unless you can perfect your coverage. And so the coverage in which I was describing, which was, Bam,

being all the way up at the level, so Jamar Murray can't string him out, can't turn the corner. They did not do, and he started struggling out. And then they started to switch it. And let me tell you, Jamar Murray did not like that switch with Bam.

When he was getting a switch with Bam, we've discussed this before. Bam can guard guards. Like, and not switch. on to a guard and keep him in front. Bam can guard a guard. He's very, very well capable of actually sitting down and guarding

a guard, no problem. And so, Jamar did not like that switch with Bam. When they start going to the switch, Jamar did not like it. And I can't recall that I can't recall

him scoring on the switch on Bam. I can't even recall him getting a good look. They were like stepbacks, feet are like twisting the other way because Bam has great speed, great length, great strain. He got everything you need to be a great defender. So he has all of those things. So not only was Jamar not getting great looks, I mean, or getting a bucket, he actually

wasn't generating great looks and his ISOs were bound. And I thought that was a very interesting development because that was actually actually something that we discussed earlier in the season, I mean, this series, which is, maybe you want to put Jimmy there and maybe you just want to switch it. If they're going to beat you one-on-one, you may have to live with that. Haven't quite seen that yet,

although they went to it a little bit, we haven't quite seen them go to that yet. And so, and just going back to last game adjustment and what I thought was just putting BAM at the level of that screen, almost into a contained blitz. So Jamal is not turning the corner. I think they could have used it, and they didn't. And then they started adjusting their coverages.

And at that point, you're kind of battling uphill. But let's really get into these performances. Aaron Gordon, 27.6 rebounds, six assists, three for four from three. Aaron Gordon, three from three. I'm sorry, there's nothing you can do about that. Aaron Gordon started hitting threes. Good luck. One thing that I have thought is very interesting is, number one, give Aaron Gordon his credit.

When he see one of those smaller guys on him, he is putting his head down and going to the rim. No questions asked. I got a small, Gabe Vincent, you name it. Head immediately goes down. I'm to the rim. Give him credit. because I can't recall many times where he actually had a small on him and his head didn't drop going to the rim.

And that is, that's game plan discipline because that is something that they've discussed in their game plan, Coach Moe, Aaron, when you get a small on you, we want you attacking every single time. And for him to actually do it, like attack every single time they get a small on him, it has put so much pressure on Miami's defense that they really don't have a lot of,

an adjustment for that. You know, and it's not like if you're Denver, you're getting all outside of yourself or out of character with telling Aaron Gordon, when he got a small on him, just put your head down and go to the rim. Because, quite frankly, Denver keeps the floor space, Joker's space, Jamal space, Michael Porter's space, Aaron Gordon would be the one that's not spacing, and he actually has the ball in his hand. And, of course, KCP is spaced.

So when he put his head down and drive, it's not like the spacing is thrown off. The spacing is actually there for him to just put his head down and drive. Oh, and if you help, the guy that you would say that is our worst shooter of these next four guys that's on the floor, be the four guys that I named, would actually be Joker who's actually shooting

the highest percentage of all of these guys from three. Is that like 50-some percent from three? at one point it was 57% from three in the playoffs. I don't know if he's still there. Don't really care if he's still there. I know he's shooting the lights out. And so which one of those guys are you going to help off up? The one who's struggling the most with their shot is,

I mean on the given day it's been KCP or Michael Porter Jr., good luck just going to help off those two guys because all they need to see is one of them go in. And then an onslaught of threes can come. So what are you? actually going to do to stop that, to stop Aaron Gordon from putting his head down and driving and getting to the rim every time? Insert Kevin Love, they've done that, but they only play Kevin Love so many minutes.

So the moment that Kevin Love goes off the floor, Aaron Gordon, the head goes down, Aaron Gordon is living at the front of your rim and your paint. I thought that was very interesting. I can respect him making a concerted effort that he has made to do that. and his paid dividends. 27 points last night. Absolutely amazing. Now, another interesting thing that I thought has been incredible

is Jamar Murray as a playmaker. That's been great. We all know Joker's an incredible playmaker. But Jamar Murray has made it in this series to where his shooting has not mattered. In the games that he has shot well, great. But there's been a couple games now in this series that he has not shot the ball well.

And it doesn't matter because he's been. and so incredible as a distributor that, like, how do you guard that? Remember, we discussed them wanting to make Joker a score and not allow him to pass, and they went a heavy dose of Jamar Murray in the pick and roll. He's making the plays. He is making the play. 10 plus assists in all for NBA finals game. Listen, I've played against Jamar Murray.

and if y'all out there knew this, maybe you're much smarter to me, but I did not know Jamar Murray had in his bag to go 10 assists in a row in four NBA finals games and to do it within the offense. Like to do it with making simple plays. Not, you know, you get guys in the NBA

to hold the ball, hold the ball, hold the ball, hold the ball, until something pops open and they can get an assist. It ain't that. It's, I'm coming off. up, you take that away. I got this read. Here it is. Delivering the ball, on time, on target passes,

and guys are finishing shots. Making plays, making it happen. Gotta give a lot of credit to Jamar Murray. Like I said, normally, in past times, we see Jamar Murray struggle with his shot, and it just looked like, man, he can't get it going. You have not thought that one time with his shot because of how he's making plays.

how he's making plays with the ball in his hand getting other guys involved. As I said, we all know what type of playmaker Joker is one of the best in the lead. I think a very underrated thing in Joker's playmaking and then Jamar Murray's playmaking is Aaron Gordon

has like high-level elite hands. If you be comparing his hands to a wide receiver, it's like Larry Fish Jerell. When Larry Fitzgerald got his hands on the pass, you can forget about it. He was catching the pass. Aaron Gordon, he gets his hand on any ball

that comes near him from Joker or that comes from Jamar Murray. Even if it's a tough pass to catch, he gets his hands on the ball. Not only is he coming up with the ball, he's finishing every single one of them. Joker had to pass over top yesterday, and he kind of caught it in front of him

and just flipped it backwards. That's a common play for them. And let me tell you, that's not an easy play to convert. Hey, you're passing it to a guy on the same line as you. What do I mean by that? That means if I'm at the free throw line, it is a very tough to throw a pass

that turns into a lob for a finish with Aaron Gordon, who's on a straight line path with me. That is a very, very, very, very, tough thing to do. They're finishing those like nobody's tomorrow. Aaron Gordon catches the ball underneath the rim. It don't matter who down there, he's going to layup or done. Very underrated thing in Joker's assist and Jamal Murray's assist is Aaron Gordon as a receiver and a finisher. He is incredible at that. Elite once he get the ball in the painted area, in the restricted area, whether it's off a lob, a bad lob, a good pass, a bad pass.

He is elite at finishing that. He's been doing it all year, and it has showed up in a major way. In this series, all throughout the playoffs, but in this series. We spoke about Christian Brown stepping in for Bruce Brown, and Bruce Brown not having the game that the Denver Nuggets need them to have. And I told you all, I am of the mindset that Bruce Brown is no longer adding to, how good you play. Like, oh, if Bruce Brown plays well, that's a bonus.

No. Bruce Brown have to play well. Bruce Brown has played well. And he had a great bounceback game last night. I am actually of the mindset if Michael Porter, Jr. plays well. If Michael Porter Jr. shoots well, that's your bonus. But Bruce Brown have to play well.

He's proven that he's going to play well. He's actually proven almost to be the, like, the Nuggets third option. Because if you think about it, when Jamar Murray goes out of the game, if Joker's not handling, who's handling the ball? Who's making the plays out of the pick and roll?

It's actually Bruce Brown. And so Bruce Brown, to me, has proven to actually be like the third option of the Nuggets, and which is why you're not, like, it's not like, oh, you just get to play, like if you play good,

great that helps us if not, don't. No, he had one bad game and Christian Braun stepped up. But Bruce Brown has to play well. And just like I thought, Bruce Brown played extremely well, extremely well,

21 points for Boris three assists, and a huge 11 points in the fourth quarter. Now, if you didn't watch the game, or if you did and you missed this, that is when Joker was in file trouble. Joker picked up his fourth file, I think with 10 minutes left on the clock, I mean, his fifth file, excuse me.

He picked up his fifth file, I think, with, they were up 10 points. I can't remember exact time on his clock. But I know they were up 10 points. And due to Bruce Brown, playing the way he's playing, or played last night, Aaron Gordon playing the way he played last night, when Joker came back in from that long extended day,

break. They were no longer up 10. Sorry, they were up 9. So within that, Miami covered one point with Joker on a bench. I'm sorry, but it would be impossible to beat Joker

if you can only cover ground and make up one point when Joker's not in the game. It's just not going to happen. Because when Joker's in the game, he's getting them into everything that he wants to get them into. And if all else fails

and I'm trying to get these guys into something, then I was just going to score the basketball. And that's what he's doing. So how can you combat that if you can't cover ground when he's on the bench? And it wasn't just like that in the fourth quarter. They stood pretty well when Joker was out the game in the first half as well.

And so I think Denver has found something with their matchups or what they're, what they're willing to go to when Joker's out of the game. Whereas they had Jeff Green, like, up at the top, catching the ball and making plays. They've switched that and moved Jeff Green to the wing, and they got Aaron Gordon making the plays. So now you're not helping off Aaron Gordon crowding the spacing up.

They can kick to Jeff Green to knock a shot down, but it opens the floor up for everyone else when Joker's not in the game, and it's keeping the floor space. that running the Spanoulis action out of it. Jamar Murray hit a huge three when Miami was trying to make a comeback off the Spanulis action. We talked about the Spanulis action before. Man, I don't, you're a 2023 NBA champion, Denver Nuggets.

Now, again, I always watch press conferences after the game. I want to know what people thinking. and Coach Mo speech after the game. Number one, they were chopping it up and it was long. So it was a long speech that Coach Mo had after the game. But if you listen to him, it was pretty much listen, fellas. It was like what I read his speech ass was like, he's excited. They're excited.

And so I'm not, you know, most coaches will come in and be like, yo, we're not done yet. We got one more game. Let's move on. Let's get it done. he didn't try to contain their excitement. He didn't even try to contain his excitement. You can feel their excitement through the TV screen.

When you were watching his postgame speech and they were chopping it up, you can feel the excitement from him. You can feel the excitement from that team buzzing through the TV. And like I said, it wasn't like a let me try to dimness, let me try to tone it down. No, he was cool with being excited. He was cool with them being excited, but the message was, I'm not pushing his energy down. We need his energy going back home and close this thing out.

But the message was, but we still have to go win one more game. This is great. Played incredible. Came out here won two games. Got the job done, fellas. Now let's go home and take care of home court. And I can appreciate that. I can appreciate that.

No, feel those emotions. Enjoy it because it's a part of the journey. Enjoy the emotions. One thing that I noticed actually during the game and then once I saw Coach Moll's press conference, I actually have on my notes because I take a few notes during the game of important things that I see that I may want to speak to you about. And I said, Denver smelled at championship.

them boys are showing emotion. It looked like a one-shining moment on those replays before break. It's like Joker doing this twice. Jamar Murray, like, it looked like if, for those of you who don't know what I mean by one-shining moment, if you are a fan of the NCAA tournament at all, at all, Coach Izzo's cell was always tough like one-shining moment. Like, there's no feeling like standing in that arena after a national championship game. looking up at the jumbo trying at those highlights.

Confetti falling down and one-shining moment playing. FYI, I've never experienced that. Got one game away. It didn't quite work. But I am a huge fan of the NCAA tournament, and I watch one-shining moment every year. Like, after someone, when you're looking forward to one-shining moment, it's a staple.

And Denver looked like a one-shining moment video. Over the last couple series, Joker is like showing emotion, and in this series even show them, I mean, Joker had probably 10 fist pumps last night. I remember, like, Joker wouldn't show emotion. Like, drop you off and just run back. Like, the emotion that he's showing is making it okay for everybody else to show that emotion,

and they're thriving off that. Like, you can see it in their body language. And so when I said to you, and there's your 2023 champions, ladies and gentlemen, Denver Nuggets, that's actually where that mindset came. Like, that's where that thought came from, is that these guys know. They smell that championship. They know. Like, they know, like, oh, no, this is ours.

We got it. We won. And, yes, we still have to go finish the job. No disrespect to the Miami Heat. But this is ours. And we're NBA champions. It's just a date now. Getting to the date that they can be NBA champions.

I told you all before this series that I had the Denver Nuggets in 5. I don't see that changing. Denver's been finishing their breakfast. I got Denver going home and getting it done. And you're 2020, 2020, NBA, NBA champion, Denver Nuggets. That's a wrap from this episode of Dremont Green Show. Peace.