Sometimes I get tired of the media talking about how there would be no dynasty Warriors without Draymond Green, because at some point it becomes like beating a dead horse. Draymond Green is the rare type of player that everyone - players, coaches, refs, spectators and announcers - are all very much aware of being of the court when he's playing. There were a couple of games last season when he was on the court, like straight stinking the place up. But he still had an impact, and usually one that was beneficial to the Warriors. The only other player I can really think of like that, who had that type of impact even at times he wasn't putting up stats, is Dennis Rodman. But like Rodman, Green at times also posts exceptional, game-altering number.
In the NBA ideally, every team has what is referred to as an "enforcer". This is the one player who - let's be honest - isn't afraid to retaliate when it's deemed the other team is playing dirty, not only against himself but also against his teammates.
While other analysts may be gushing over Draymond's versatile skillset, one thing I always avaluded him for is the realization that the reason other squads don't regularly play Steph (and Klay) dirty likely has a lot to do with knowing that Green has his back, because Curry is small by NBA standards, and I you have to presume that there's a lot of players out there who are jealous of him.
There's a lot of tough guys in the NBA, you know, those who will fight back if they feel a defender is personally playing them grimy. But there aren't as many thugs, like Draymond Green. And I'm not talking about that Javaris Critterton level of thugism. I'm talking about the types, like Draymond Green, let you know that if you interact with him in a certain way, then he's swinging. And then beyond that, like the entire team is under his protection. He's like the main thug in the NBA right now. Yes, there are a few others out there with like Draymond potential. But the thing is that you can't really be an enforcer when you're changing teams every other season, which is one of the ways in the Warriors have empowered Green, by actually keeping him.
There's this phrase I coined that goes "the worst sinners make the best saints". And what I mean by that is every time you hear somebody talking about 'I don't give AF', they're usually referring to either doing something potentially self-destructive or that may be harmful to other people. But not giving a fuck goes both ways, like sometimes you also have to not give AF in the name of doing good. So it's like the thugs, who are used to not giving AF, they also have the most capacity to do good, you know, if they were switch from the dark to the light.
And that's how I see Draymond Green's apology to Jordan Poole. This isn't one of those PR apologies or the type where a player tries to rationalize doing something as unscrupulous as sucker punching someone. No, Draymond admits that he fucked out and that, with the punch going public, it is not only embarrassing to Jordan but also his parents and even Green himself. Like, that's some real shit right there.
CONCLUSION
Being sucker punched is a hard thing to get over, sometimes. Other times, you may look at the situation and be like 'okay, maybe I did provoke that response' or 'maybe I should have swung first'. Either way, like I don't know the relationship between Poole and Green, but I have to imagine, all things considered, that now it's stronger than ever. For example if a defender tries to get thuggish with Jordan, now they can very much look forward to big brother Draymond being on their ass, like that duffing may have now earned Poole a Steph level of protection, which is something that few NBA players enjoy.
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