The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Draymond Green Show - Suns/Warriors & MVP Race Heating Up

Episode Date: March 14, 2023

Draymond Green discusses the Golden State Warriors victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night behind performances from Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Joel Embiid tightening the MVP race with Nikola Jokic, and the NBA possibly instituting a new rule. Produced by: Jackson Safon #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. It is Tuesday morning, a big win last night versus the Phoenix Suns. That puts us at two big wins in a row against two of the better teams in the league. Milwaukee Bucks at home and the Phoenix Suns at home, quite frankly, I think people probably have grown to expect us to win those games at home regardless of who they're against, because we have an incredible record at home. But on the road has been a different story. We will get into that. We will talk Warrior's Son's game, which was an incredible game, fun game for us. We're also going to talk about what's been going around lately, which is, I know Stephen they said something about a couple of days ago about Joelle Embed and the M.

MVP race against Joker. That's an interesting topic, and I think that that has heated up a bit or tilted a bit, but like I said, we'll get into that. And then also the news that came out a couple days ago as well, which is the NBA may be adding, or the NBA and MBPA may be reaching agreements on adding a certain amount of games played for the MVP award or major awards. wars. And I have quite the perspective on that one. So the NBA stretch run is upon us. Huge matchups across the league as my dubs and I battle with the teams in the West for playoff position.

Going to be a lot of fun on TV, but what if you can actually be at some of these games? For last minute amazing deals on tickets, not just the dubs, but your favorite NBA team, check out game time, the fastest growing ticketing app in the U.S. And it doesn't stop with the NBA. Game Time has tickets to the NHL, NCAA basketball games, even concert and comedy shows too. So if you're in Phoenix and want to see KD try to make a run with the Suns, Game Time has your seats. If you're in Boston and hoping to see Jason Tatum and the Celtics work their way to the finals again, Game Time has your seats. Or you want to see Chris Rock anytime soon.

Download the GameTime app and Redeem Code Green for $20 off your first purchases. Terms apply. Again, download the GameTime app and enter code green. That's G-R-E-E-N for $20 off. No matter where you live, get out and have some fun this week. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Let's get right into a first Warrior Sun's game. Clay Thompson got off to a huge start, huge start in the first half, 33 points in the first half.

which was absolutely great. You know, we were able to, I think we closed the first quarter of 22 points or something like that, which was good. And obviously, you know, when you go up big like that to start a game, teams usually going to make a run. You like to hope that they'll never cut the lead to two, which in this case the sons did, but they're going to make a run. And this is the NBA.

As you've seen this year, no lead is safe. And so I was actually very satisfied and impressed with how we responded. You know, once they cut it to two, we were able to push the lead back to 10, got it to 12, but ended up going into the fourth quarter up 10, which I thought was really big. You know, when you go on a run like that, and sparked by Devin Booker for them, he was great in the third quarter, when you close a lead like that, oftentimes you get there

and, you know, when it's such a big lead like it was, you run out of gas. You know, it takes so much for you to climb back into it. And quite frankly, you know, it's one thing if you, like, get to the fourth quarter and you close it to two because you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. You close it to two in the third quarter and you look up, you've expended so much energy. And yet there's another 12 minutes to play. And sometimes that alone, just the thought of that alone, can knock you out. And quite frankly, I don't think it did that to the sons.

I thought guys responded well defensively and offensively. Steph got to the free throw line a couple times. Once they cut the lead to two, he got to the free throw line, two possessions in a row which you get to the free throw line. It slows the game down. It allows you to set your defense. And then obviously with a great free throw shooter like stuff, you know, you can build on that. And sure enough, we did. And I thought that was absolutely great. I see a lot of people

are talking about the play where Steph had Chris Paul on the wing slash corner a little below the break. For those of you who don't know what below the break is, so if you ever look at an NBA three-point line from the corner, it goes up like this, and then there's like this bin, and it starts to go arc around. That bin is called the break. And so Steph had CP below the break. He hit him with a couple moves and got an amazing and one. And if you read his lips, he got up and he said, this ain't 2014 no more. I was on the bench at that point,

and I started talking to guys on the bench. Like, do y'all realize what he just said? Like, you can't listen to rap music and not understand the bars. Like, if you're going to listen to rap, in order to, like, really enjoy it, you got to understand the bars. And oftentimes, you know, you get people listening to beats and they're like, oh, I rock with the song. But there's bars.

Like, talk to an artist and see how much they appreciate you rocking to the beat of they sung or if they appreciate you saying, wow, that's a bar. Like, you appreciate the bars. And I appreciated the bar by Steph Curry because you got to dig into that comment. This is not 2014 anymore. That's pretty much saying the last time. you were better than me was 2014. That's nine years ago. Like this haven't been a debate since 2014.

Nine years ago, that's almost a decade. That's a bar. So I just hope, you know, those that enjoyed that part of the game, which I do, that you appreciated that bar because that was indeed a bar. Obviously, Kevin Durant lists

Phoenix Suns team you know when they get Katie back that obviously makes any game tougher but you know and just overall kind of dissecting or examining or whatever word

you choose to use the Phoenix Suns you have to wonder if the lack of games played together is going to come back and bite you towards the end of the season Katie who's expected to be out at least three weeks.

By the time he gets back, what, there's a week left in the season, week and a half left in the season, and then you're going into the playoffs. You always hope to have that time to build the chemistry. I think they've probably played three or four games together. And so in saying that, you put great players on the floor, and oftentimes they figure it out. If you remember back to our season last year,

we didn't play much together at all. Once Clay got back from the injury, I went out. Once I got back, Steph went out. So we didn't really have a chance to play together at all until starting game one of the NBA playoffs. And obviously we figured it out and won a championship. So it's not like it's impossible, but it is hard. And then also you're talking guys who've played together for 11 years or 10 years at that point. That chemistry is also different.

And so we'll see. That's a tough one to get over, but it's obviously nothing you can do about it. But like I said, they have great players and great players figure it out and make a way. So we'll see what happens And I think that's something for you all to watch for down the stretch with the Phoenix Suns. The NBA stretch run is upon us.

Huge matchups across the league as my dubs and I battle with the teams in the West for playoff position. Going to be a lot of fun on TV, but what if you can actually be at some of these games? For last minute, amazing deals on tickets, not just the dubs, but your favorite NBA team.

Check out game time. The fastest growing, ticketing app in the U.S. And it doesn't stop with the NBA. Game Time has tickets to the NHL, NCAA basketball games, even concert and comedy shows, too. So if you're in Phoenix and want to see

KD try to make a run with the sons, Game Time has your seats. If you're in Boston and hoping to see Jason Tatum and the Celtics work their way to the finals again, Game Time has your seats. Or you want to see Chris Rock anytime soon. Download the

Game Time app and redeem Code Green for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, download the GameTime app and enter Code Green. That's G-R-E-E-N for $20 off. No matter where you live, get out and have some fun this week. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed.

The Dubs closed out this homestan with great wins. Now we got to go on the road. But we've lost eight in a row. And I think this time, you know, we're having a discussion. Like you're primed and ready for, you're primed and ready for the row. Like you're talking about it. You're having a discussion. What do we need to do?

And I think that's important. So looking forward to this road trip, I think this will be a good road trip for us. And it's important that it is a good road trip for us. If you're paying any attention to the standards, we're right there at 36 and 33 with the clippers. So this next game is huge going to L. LA, tied up in the stand. This is a big game for us. So got to make sure we lock in and you want to start the road trip off right.

And that'll be big for us. And saying that, let's get into Joel Embed. Slash Nicola Yokic, MVP race. I said the last time I spoke about the MVP race, that guys still have work to do, that it has not been decided. And that if it has been decided is a little biased or a little early in it, When I say a little bias, I'm not saying bias to no race because I know that's been a big discussion. I am not discussing that at all.

What I are implying that at all. What I am talking about is I just don't think there's been enough separation between anyone at that point to say, oh, it's this guy or it's that guy. And I'm saying that since we've last discussed that, Joel and B has been on a tear. And the nuggets have been sliding. And so you look at the Nuggets sliding. Just last night they lost to Brooklyn, or two nights ago, they lost to Brooklyn at home. And they've been kind of losing a little bit as of late. Philly's been winning a little bit as of late.

Joel's been playing great all year, but also as of late, 39 here, 39 there, 37. And he's willing his team to wins. I think that has to account for something. And so in my MVP race with 13 games to go, however many games these teams got, I think Joelle has started to create a little separation. Now, in saying that, it's still super close, so that can still change.

But I think right now when the next MVP ladder comes out, if it comes out within the next week or so, and Joel continues this, Joel got to take that number one spot because I think he's been playing that way, his team's been winning, and then also, like I said, if you look at the nuggets, they've had a little slippage, they've lost a few games, and that matters.

That matters in this tight MVP race because you have to take the whole body of work. It just can't be a numbers thing. You have to take the whole body of work and how they're contributing and impacting their team. So I think that is one that we have to continue to watch. But if you ask me, Joel has definitely created a tad bit of separation. If the season ended today, I think he's created a 10. had a bit of separation. But in saying that,

you have to change the mind of voters. And voters the last two years have favored Yokic. And he's won it twice. And so you have to change that mindset of voters. And that's a tough thing to do and changing any one mind about anything. So we'll see how that plays out down the stretch. But again, I got Joelle as a front runner right now.

now by a small margin. Before we get out of here, there was news that came out about the CBA negotiations where the NBA and the NBA Players Association, NBPA, National Basketball Players Association, MBPA, have discussed a minimum amount of games to win major awards. Now, I have a perspective on this because I am someone who lost a defensive player at a year war to Kauai who played 48 games that year and I was pissed. Number one, I thought I hands down won it. And Kauai is an incredible defender, especially at that point in this career.

So I'm taking nothing from Kauai as a defender. But I was incredible that year. And I won the first place votes. Like, it was crazy. I had the most first place votes and then I had some reporters not even vote for me top three, which was crazy in itself. Like, that does not make sense. You lead in first place votes, but some voters don't even have you on their ballot.

And that's why I always say, like, there needs to be a better system put in place for these awards in general, not just adding a certain amount of games, but like, these awards mean too much to people, legacies, to people careers, and most importantly to people's contracts, that to have someone that can vote and don't, quite frankly, I think a lot of people don't. don't understand the game of basketball, even some of those that write stories to you and they speak to you. I just don't think they really know the game. And I stand on that.

And so you have some people that don't know the game voting. You have some people that may have a personal vendetta towards you that votes. Like, I think it's just, like, to have people that carry biases, like, you can read stuff. They carry bias in those awards, certain biases, I think. I think it's crazy. You know, you can decide whether someone makes 30 extra million dollars, and I think that's insane. So, as you know, I have a whole problem with the whole voting thing anyway.

Now I'm saying that, like I said, I am someone who is impacted by this. Should a, well, should an amount of games be added for these awards? I think that's two-fold. I think, like I said, as someone who's been impacted by that, I understand it. but should a certain penalty be added to these teams who are tanking for draft picks, added to these teams when they start sitting their guys towards the end of the season to lose games, should certain penalties be added in? And don't tell me, oh, the lottery was changed to go, you know, to negate that,

and you don't get as many eyes, listen, 15% odds is still beats three any day. So that hasn't been a fix. teams are still tanking. These teams been in the Wimbabayama sweet stakes all season. They're still tanking. So you can't have it both ways. It got to be two-fold now. Like you say, oh, these guys are sitting out this game or that game.

And you got teams that do that for draft positioning. So my hope is that the NBA player, the National Basketball Players Association is is NBPA is raising that. Like, it can't just be versus the players. It's like, no. It has to be both ways. Can't have it one way. So that's kind of my take on that.

Do I think it should be added if you're asking for my opinion? I think it matters. Like, you can't play 50 games and win MVP because you were so strong in those 50. Like, a huge part of the season is, or a huge part of the season. NBA is the season, the grind of the season and pushing through that. And so I get it. Like I said, as someone who's affected by it, I understand. But my only thing would be is, if we're adding that for the players,

the same thing has to be added for these teams that are tanking. That's it. That's a wrap on this episode of the Draymond Green Show. Looking forward to, well, obviously, you know, we have a guest interview later this week. All-Star, Utah Jazz, All-Star, Lowry Marketing. I hope all of you check that episode out. It was actually a very incredible episode, something I just hit on or mentioned,

which is everyone's talking about the MVP racing. I had mentioned something a couple weeks ago about Europeans not being held to the same standards as American players after Stephen A's list that he had put out. And we discussed that, and I gave you my opinion on that. I discussed that with Lowry, and he had an opinion, and he had some gems, and he gave me a perspective that I didn't have, and it was great to have a European guy on here

who kind of sees it through the lens of a European player. I thought that was absolutely incredible. And like I said, he gave some gyms, so make sure y'all check that out. It was an absolutely incredible episode. Also talked about some different things, just his emergence as an all-star in YouTube, and, you know, his road there is absolutely incredible interview. I enjoyed it. I hope you all enjoy it.

Check it out later this week. But that's a wrap from this episode of the Draymond Green Show. Until next time, peace.