Draymond tells a hard truth(well…his truth) that you won’t like.

[Kblaze8855]

You don’t know what you’re watching.





“The average person thinks they understand what they’re watching,” Green says about N.B.A. observers. “They have no idea.”








Most of them don’t understand the X’s and O’s. I always tell people — and I’m not saying it from an egregious place; I’m saying it from a logical place — you can’t possibly think you understand basketball as much as me. I study this for numerous hours daily. There are guys that play in the N.B.A. that don’t know the game of basketball, and yet most people think, Oh, I know the game. No, you don’t! And by the way, I’m not saying you have to play or coach in the N.B.A. to know the game of basketball. I’m saying it’s hard to know the game, and very few actually do.

No one’s going to value me going on CNBC and breaking down the stock market. No one’s going to look for me to walk into their doctor’s office and say, “Actually, that’s this and not that.” You know why? Because I don’t study that. That’s not my expertise. But still people think they know basketball!





What about when criticism comes from a former player like Shaq, who said the league is soft now, or Charles Barkley, who said you’re not the player you were? Yeah, Charles Barkley went out and said I lost a step.4 (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/09/magazine/draymond-green-interview.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab#tooltip-4) My coach was telling me how I was moving about as good as ever! I work with Charles. Charles doesn’t always watch the games. I don’t take it personal. Went through one ear and out the other. As far as Shaq saying the league is softer,5 (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/09/magazine/draymond-green-interview.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab#tooltip-5) that’s fine. But we didn’t make it softer. The rules made it softer. I would have loved to hand-check somebody if I could. I would love to clothesline somebody and we just get up and walk to the free-throw line and continue playing if I could. We didn’t make those rule changes, nor do we have any say-so. So if Shaq feels that the game is softer, guess what? It is. But I don’t agree that players are softer, and that’s not what he said. He said the game is softer. I agree.

[fourkicks44]

I agree with him.

[red1]

dray has always been a smart dude. he's annoying because he shouldnt be so cocky for his level of talent but hey no one can question his basketball IQ.


their defense always went to shit without him and he's smart enough to know his only job on offense is setting up much more talented offensive players


perfect example of being a star in a role.



keyword is roleplayer.

[Kblaze8855]

This here is from his first summer league where the warriors coaches were saying he’s too slow to be a 3 and too small to be a four but was just too smart to not play. This is after a 1-5 game so it’s not like he lit it up:




"His basketball IQ is far beyond any rookie I have ever seen come into this league," said assistant coach Pete Myers (https://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=warriors&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22Pete+Myers%22), who played nine seasons and has been a coach or scout in the league since 1999. "He knows himself, he has a mental toughness and a physical competitiveness. It's going to be hard to keep him off the floor."







Thats before any success or being known at all.

Hes probably right in that he understands what’s happening out there a lot better than us but nobody wants to say so.

I don’t mind personally. There’s always someone who knows better.

[fourkicks44]

If he ever coaches he will definitely be in the Bob Knight style of coaching

[red1]

when I'm watching the game I just like seeing high level competition. and seeing examples of greatness.


and its social. sports that is. I catch up with friends over sports.



I'm not going to act like I understand all of the Xs and Os defensive schemes and coverages. aint nobody got time for that.

[FultzNationRISE]

dray has always been a smart dude. he's annoying because he shouldnt be so cocky for his level of talent but hey no one can question his basketball IQ.


their defense always went to shit without him and he's smart enough to know his only job on offense is setting up much more talented offensive players


perfect example of being a star in a role.



keyword is roleplayer.

Knowing your role is def an underrated skill.

There are a lot of guys who are talented but try to do too much, and there are also guys who are talented but dont assert themselves ENOUGH.

Finding the optimal balance that gives your team the most lift is def part of basketball IQ, and Dray does it well, but of course, Lebron does it BEST :rockon:

[Spurs m8]

He is right...the average nba fan is dumb as bricks

The media don't help that

[Real Men Wear Green]

We don't know the play calls so he's basically right but we can form opinions on more obvious things.

[Wardell Curry]

He's right.

[red1]

Knowing your role is def an underrated skill.

There are a lot of guys who are talented but try to do too much, and there are also guys who are talented but dont assert themselves ENOUGH.

Finding the optimal balance that gives your team the most lift is def part of basketball IQ, and Dray does it well, but of course, Lebron does it BEST :rockon:

always gotta appreciate a GOAT gimmick


that 2020 "season" and clippers 3-1 choke in the bubble was TOO funny :oldlol:




skip bought new kawhis new balances and threw them in trash on live television in the same week :roll:

[Im Still Ballin]

Knowing your role is def an underrated skill.

There are a lot of guys who are talented but try to do too much, and there are also guys who are talented but dont assert themselves ENOUGH.

Finding the optimal balance that gives your team the most lift is def part of basketball IQ, and Dray does it well, but of course, Lebron does it BEST :rockon:

Awesome post. I'm adding this to the thread of wise posts.

[Kblaze8855]

when I'm watching the game I just like seeing high level competition. and seeing examples of greatness.


and its social. sports that is. I catch up with friends over sports.



I'm not going to act like I understand all of the Xs and Os defensive schemes and coverages. aint nobody got time for that.


being kind of sorta, retired, I found I do have time for that. I like knowing pet plays even though it amazes me how often some of them work. Guys like Lebron, Draymond, Rondo or Paul know just about every play opponents run before they even get into position but you can tell a lot of the players don’t.

Draymond talks guys through it but sometimes you can tell Lebron doesn’t care enough.

In the end plays work or don’t because they are designed to give the d a lot of ways to **** it up and someone usually does so it doesn’t always matter if they know. Everyone knew the Stockton and Malone pick and roll options but they still worked because knowing doesn’t give you more ways to react to it.

but still when I watch a YouTube of some coach calling his favorite inbound play and it works 28 times and then it works when I’m watching a live game it’s a little annoying.

[Overdrive]

You don’t know what you’re watching.

He's right and wrong at the same time.

He's right that the average fan doesn't understand shit. Also that some NBA players neither do.
He's wrong that nobody understands what's going on, because he isn't in the NBA. Of course people can't know what the play was exactly designed like by looking at it, but enough people have an understanding what happens on the court and see the basics that are the elements of a certain play. It's not exactly rocket science.

The first thing that shows if someone somewhat understands what basketball is about is when they stop concentrating on the fn ball all the time. You can have randos playing blacktop 3on3, who run plays after a few minutes, while others can't do shit after decades of playing. The first guys sure have some understanding on what it takes and what's going on within an offense or defense.

In reality Draymond is just mad that he gets called out for not being as good as he feels he is.
The problem with fans is that they don't understand the difference between individual greatness and individual importance. So of course Dray will point out things he excels at the average watcher won't get, which is kind of unfair.

[Kblaze8855]

He's right and wrong at the same time.

He's right that the average fan doesn't understand shit. Also that some NBA players neither do.
He's wrong that nobody understands what's going on, because he isn't in the NBA. Of course people can't know what the play was exactly designed like by looking at it, but enough people have an understanding what happens on the court and see the basics that are the elements of a certain play. It's not exactly rocket science.

The first thing that shows if someone somewhat understands what basketball is about is when they stop concentrating on the fn ball all the time. You can have randos playing blacktop 3on3, who run plays after a few minutes, while others can't do shit after decades of playing. The first guys sure have some understanding on what it takes and what's going on within an offense or defense.

In reality Draymond is just mad that he gets called out for not being as good as he feels he is.
The problem with fans is that they don't understand the difference between individual greatness and individual importance. So of course Dray will point out things he excels at the average watcher won't get, which is kind of unfair.



I’ve heard people like him and others over the years lament how fans basically look at points and shooting to decide if you played well or not. And for a guy like him who might take seven shots in 38 minutes making two of those or 4 doesn’t determine how he played. It just determines how imbeciles(in his eyes) think he played. It’s 2 seconds of changes in 150 possessions he played a role in and people who have no idea what they’re seeing critique it like experts.

I can see how it would get old. I suspect he felt better about that game he had the triple double without points as one of the three than about any big shooting night. Like Wilt who’s greatest game in his eyes was his 55 rebound night and everyone else thinks it’s the 100 points.

A guy like him would probably want fans to see the whole game but knows they never will.

[red1]

being kind of sorta, retired, I found I do have time for that. I like knowing pet plays even though it amazes me how often some of them work. Guys like Lebron, Draymond, Rondo or Paul know just about every play opponents run before they even get into position but you can tell a lot of the players don’t.

Draymond talks guys through it but sometimes you can tell Lebron doesn’t care enough.

In the end plays work or don’t because they are designed to give the d a lot of ways to **** it up and someone usually does so it doesn’t always matter if they know. Everyone knew the Stockton and Malone pick and roll options but they still worked because knowing doesn’t give you more ways to react to it.

but still when I watch a YouTube of some coach calling his favorite inbound play and it works 28 times and then it works when I’m watching a live game it’s a little annoying.

I hear you. I've watched so much hoops that I can see certain play calls and defensive coverages too.


cp3, rondo (if he didnt retire and is still in the league) and lebron are the highest IQ guys in the league.


yeah. you can know what a team is doing an even know their plays, but when that screen comes, its all scramble mode from there. reacting to players that are just as fast as you.



basketballs is a very cerebral sport. all about exploiting advantages and mismatches on offense while playing strategic limiting defense that only works sometimes.



its a very cerebral sport unless you're the kd steph klay warriors and you just focus on offense and shoot teams out of every game.

[Kblaze8855]

By the way that weird triple double?

Only 4 points but 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals, and 5 blocks.

What the **** is that? Talk about being everywhere at once.

We will see another 70 point game before anyone does that again and it wasn’t even a 2 day story.

Without the points it’s like you never existed.

[red1]

By the way that weird triple double?

Only 4 points but 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals, and 5 blocks.

What the **** is that? Talk about being everywhere at once.

We will see another 70 point game before anyone does that again and it wasn’t even a 2 day story.

Without the points it’s like you never existed.

dray isnt explosive enough to be a wing in today's league and he's too small to be a true big


his game is all IQ and heart



he guards bigs that are way bigger than him and that he has no business guarding like jokic and actually gives them a run for their money.




I dont care about charles triple single jokes even they make me laugh every time. draymond is a G.

[Overdrive]

I’ve heard people like him and others over the years lament how fans basically look at points and shooting to decide if you played well or not. And for a guy like him who might take seven shots in 38 minutes making two of those or 4 doesn’t determine how he played. It just determines how imbeciles(in his eyes) think he played. It’s 2 seconds of changes in 150 possessions he played a role in and people who have no idea what they’re seeing critique it like experts.

I can see how it would get old. I suspect he felt better about that game he had the triple double without points as one of the three than about any big shooting night. Like Wilt who’s greatest game in his eyes was his 55 rebound night and everyone else thinks it’s the 100 points.

A guy like him would probably want fans to see the whole game but knows they never will.

Not saying the fans aren't unfair either and it doesn't get annoying for guys like him. Just like they would critique Jason Kidd for his 8p/12a/11r games, while he was clearly the leader on 2 finals teams.

Still Draymond criticising NBA fans for having no deeper understanding is like Einstein criticising his plumber for being dumber than him. I understand his frustrations. It's just not right. He has to understand that for 99% of the people watching NBA is just entertainment and more people are entertained by prime James Harden than prime Draymond.

[eliteballer]

Basketball is not exactly neurosurgery.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Basketball is not exactly neurosurgery.

No but if you don't know the plays you can analyze something incorrectly. It's very easy for a defender to look bad for letting his man beat him off the double to a side where it looks like he wasn't defending adequately but in reality a teammate was supposed to help him in the open side. Or in offense sometimes when a guy throws the ball away he had picked up his dribble expecting a teammate to cut or move to an open spot, the guy isn't where he should be and so the ballhabdler is caught in no man's land.

[FultzNationRISE]

Basketball is not exactly neurosurgery.


I heard you wanted to give Lebron HEAD

[iamgine]

"There are guys that play in the N.B.A. that don’t know the game of basketball as much as me, and yet most people think, Oh, I know the game just as much as Draymond. No, you don’t! And by the way, I’m not saying you have to play or coach in the N.B.A. to know the game of basketball like me. I’m saying it’s hard to know the game like me, and very few actually do."

Fixed for Draymond.

He's generalizing the ignorant casuals with basketball observers and even NBA players who actually knows the game quite a little bit. Yeah not as much as him perhaps, but they know basketball.

[FKAri]

Basketball may be the dumbest sport but he's right that to understand even it at the very highest of levels is a rare thing indeed. I'm sure I don't understand it anywhere near as well as he does when it comes to all the details and databases he has in his head regarding all the players and teams. But what's harder than understanding what you're watching is putting it into practice while you're in the game. I think this is the part most fans get tripped up on. The "even I saw that play coming" or "I could've stopped that" Monday morning quarterbacking that happens in all sports. He probably has to deal with this kind of shit from fans on the regular.