Draymond: Gary Payton II “morphed into that Shaun Livingston role”
[video/interview/transcript]
Draymond Green waxed poetic about long-time teammate Gary Payton II at yesterday’s practice before today’s Play-in matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the LA Clippers.
There was even a reference to perhaps the greatest calming force ever to don the blue-and-gold.
“He’s become a steady force for us. You used to throw GP in the game, he rattled some stuff up. Now you throw him in the game to settle things down. He’s kind of morphed into that Shaun Livingston role, where he come in the game and things settle down a bit,” said Green.
Yes, Gary got-ejected-on-a-secomd-tech-after-shooting-a-ball-from-halfcourt-during-a-timeout Payton II (see Warriors-Kings recap) was described as someone who settles things down. The potentially crazy one who sometimes throws the ball to the wrong team or makes a silly needless foul as we pull our hair out on the livestream Watch Parties.
I kid, though. GP2 has, indeed, filled up the stat sheet since one Wardell Stephen Curry got sidelined with that runner’s knee, averaging 12-5-2-2 (points, rebounds, assists, steals) and just one turnover per game off the bench in Curry’s absence since January 30th.
“Him just growing into kind of a calming force for this team and everybody believes in that. And then also I think he takes a lot less shit than he used to. And I love that part,” added Dray.
The scrum also got steered right after the question about Payton, posed by Mark Medina of The RG Media, into reverence of Steph, drawing upon Game 4 of the 2022 Finals in Boston.
“Speaking of G,” Draymond said, referring to Gary, “when Steph speak like that, it’s a calming force for everyone. When you see him, there’s a confidence that comes with that and when it’s playoff time, when the stakes rise, the game level rises, he’s that steady force where, go back to Game 4 in Boston… nobody could really get it right. I was rattled and he was just like, ‘Oh no, it’s cool. Like, everybody come on, let’s go. Like, it’s fine.’”
Assuming the Warriors exit this post-season early, I can’ t wait to do a rewatch of that series. I also want to see if the Draymond detractors on Xitter are correct in that he regressed that entire run, or if they are using the benching incident as a red herring.
Anyways, leave it to Day-Day to pull me back onto the Curry bandwagon — as I’ve written and recorded on the YouTube channel recently, my heart will no doubt make me root for the on-court Dubs during the broadcast tonight, but my brain still tells me that had Moses Moody not gone down in a heap in Dallas, maybe I’d ride this version of the 2025-26 Warriors till the wheels fell off:
Be sure to stop by tonight, live on our Watch Party, as I become that basketball fiend watching what happens between 94 feet. Then around 9:30PM, after the final buzzer, I’ll go back to wondering if Yaxel Lendeborg might drop to the 11th pick or maybe if Atlanta Hawks GM Onsi Saleh might be amenable to a trade for his 7th pick:
Full Draymond transcript below the paywall (or click on the video below and read the transcript in its Comments)…
00:00 With everything that's that's at stake, how would you describe the level of preparation this past few days and how locked in the group is?
00:07 DRAYMOND GREEN, PRACTICE, DAY BEFORE GSW-LAC: Everybody's locked in. I think our coaching staff has done a great job putting the game plan in. I think it's on us, Steph, Al, KP, myself, to make sure guys are locked in and understand what playoff preparation mean and you do that by leading by example, what your preparation look like when you're coming in, so I think we got a great game plan. It's on us to just go out and execute.
00:37 What does being a 16-game player look like?
00:41 I think number one is you have to have a certain focus level. You have to meet a certain level of physicality. If you can't raise to that level, like, we all know. Everybody talks about it every year, but when playoff time come around, the game gets more physical. The fouls called are pulled back a bit and I think one of the beautiful things the NBA does and the referees do, is you have to go win. It's not — you're not getting bailed out and so I think it's really understanding that, being able to lock in on the game plan. If you're someone that can't lock in on the game plan, you can't be a 16-game player. If you're someone that's gonna shy away from contact, gonna shy away from physicality, you can't be a 16-game player. And so I think those are the two biggest things and then understanding what their defense is trying to do and how you combat that.
01:46 Are you a little more excited for this game than you were last week?
01:49 Yeah, like I said last week, once the game get here, competitor, you ready to go. You go out there, you get embarrassed, you're not ready and so just as a competitor, as the game get closer, for sure, but I definitely didn't lose sleep last week. I may tonight.
02:10 How's the preparation with a do-or-die game different than maybe like a playoff series, like a seven-game series?
02:18 Well, when you go into a playoff series — it's a nice watch, brother, I like that. Catch my eye. When you go into a playoff series, you want to get the first game, but you ultimately know after that first game, win or lose, you're gonna make adjustments. And that's the name of the game in the playoffs. Who's going to adjust better? Who's going to adjust quicker? The one-game do-or-die take you back to college. You don't have time for adjustments and so ultimately what it boils down to is, who's gonna play harder? Who's going to get the loose balls? Who's gonna make less game plan discipline mistake, game plan mistakes because you get one game. And so, yeah, halftime you'll make some adjustments, but it's not to the level of what happens in a playoff series. After Game 1 — you win Game 1, the other team's adjusting. They win Game 2, you're adjusting. Game 3, there's more adjustments, right? Like, this is different. You gotta go out there, you gotta — This is oftentimes, in one-game situations, usually the team with the best will is gonna win that game. And so I think it's a little different from an X and O standpoint, whether it's one-game or whether it's a series, that's why you always hear people talk about Game 7. Everything goes out the window because it's one game. And so this is a little similar. Obviously, you get to a Game 7, you've seen this team six times now, but as far as you got one game, everything goes out the window. We've played this team four times this year. It all goes out the window. You got one game. Who's going to come into that game with the higher focus level, with the higher level of physicality? That's probably the team that's gonna win.
04:23 Draymond, go ahead. Draymond, good to see you. Gary has often expressed gratitude with how you've been an ally throughout his career. What did you see from him when he first joined you all and what do you see now?
04:38 It's continued to improve. Most importantly, he — the way he's learned how to read defenses and play off of other guys, Steph in particular, GP probably play off Steph better than I do, which is saying a lot. Whether he does or doesn't is irrelevant, but the point that I could make that statement says a lot. And so just seeing him gain that continuity and with myself as well, like, me and GP, I can find him in places, but it's because he knows, he knows how to read, to find those open gaps in the defense. And I think that's one of the biggest things is, like, he's gotten here, he's found his way, he knows his role and he's just continued to get better in that role. I think so oftentimes in this league, you see people wanting to outgrow their role and get themselves in trouble. And he's just become a star in that role. He's become a steady force for us. You used to throw GP in the game, he rattled some stuff up. Now you throw him in the game to settle things down. He's kind of morphed into that Shaun Livingston role, where he come in the game and things settle down a bit. You get to your certain actions you want to get to and I think that's one of the biggest things. And him just growing into kind of a calming force for this team and everybody believes in that. And then also I think he takes a lot less sh_t than he used to. And I love that part.
06:25 Draymond, you obviously played a ton of meaningful basketball, as Steph puts it, with him. What is he like when the stakes rise like this? What — how does his, I mean, Steve talked about your focus sharpening. What's Steph like when the stage becomes bigger?
06:40 His focus level goes to a completely different level. When you have the skill level of Steph Curry, you don't have to always focus because you can bail yourself out of any situation. That's, I think that's the beauty in being a superstar like Steph Curry, the level of focus that I have to go into a game with on the daily. He don't have to, but when it comes playoff times, his focus goes to a completely different level. He talks more, he's putting guys in position, he's telling people what you're going to see. And speaking of G, talking about G calming, when Steph speak like that, it's a calming force for everyone. When you see him, there's a confidence that comes with that and when it's playoff time, when the stakes rise, the game level rises, he's that steady force where, go back to Game 4 in Boston.
07:48 Right, 43.
07:48 Where it was like, man, like nobody could really get it right. I was rattled and he was just like, oh no, it's cool. Like, everybody come on, let's go. Like, it's fine. And that's, I think that probably, it explains it better than anything. Like, if you look at that game, that's his level of focus. When the intensity rises, when the game pressure, when the pressure of that game rises, that's who he becomes. And it's, to have that guy on your side, that's why you always have a chance.
08:25 Kawhi's na guy you've seen multiple times through your tenure here, but he's averaging career highest points, just three-point rate's the highest he's ever been. How do you begin to prepare for a guy like that when he's been so aggressive, offensively?
08:35 Well, number one, I think it's important that A) it's a complete team effort. No one guy is gonna stop that guy. He's too good, so it's complete team effort and being locked in on our game plan. And then you just try to make him take tough shots and live with the results. Ultimately, I always tell guys, Kawhi is a great player. If he shoot 50% from the field, if I can make him miss one more shot and I did my job, if I could out of 10 shots, if he's gonna go 5-for-10, if I can make that 4-for-10, then 4-for-10 becomes 8-for-20, right? I did my job. And I think that's ultimately what you have to understand when you're playing against superstar players, it's like, man, NBA coaches are the best coaches in the world, so they're going to put that guy in positions over the course of 48 minutes to have some success, no matter what you do as a defender. So ultimately as the defender, I just want, when they're putting him in all of these positions, for success. I just need to try to make it a little bit tougher, make that shot a little bit tougher. If he want to get that shot where you stand, can I make him take that shot one step further back? That's what it ultimately boils down to, but man, he's an incredible player. I was telling somebody the other day, like, having this Kawhi we're watching now and he's even better, but we're seeing him healthy. And he looked like the Kawhi that we played in the NBA Finals seven years ago. And then just as a competitor, as someone who's played him throughout my career, I'm happy to see him healthy as a guy who, he's a hard worker. Look where he started. he come in with the 14th, 15th pick or something like that, couldn't throw the ball in the ocean. Now, he's one of the better shooters in our league, so he works. To see that yearly get cut by something that he couldn't control and then to watch people talk about him like he not who he is, it was unfortunate. And so to see him playing at the level that he's playing at, competitor or not, just as a fan of basketball, happy as hell.
11:05 Draymond, yesterday Steve was praising the way that you handled the film session. What is a engaged, enthusiastic film session from you feel like and sound?
11:15 Probably a little too close to how Steve sounds, but honestly, just really trying to share different things that may not get covered. Trying to be another set of eyes for our coaching staff. They're going through so many things. When you are watching the amount of film that they're watching, sometimes that can lead to some fatigue, so what if they miss something and that one thing can ultimately help save a bucket? Save one bucket could be the game and so I just try to be an extra set of eyes for our coaching staff, for our team, share some things with them that they may not catch, share some things with them that they may not know, just from experience, is ultimately what I try to do, but I probably talk a little too much.
12:11 No.
12:11 But it's all right.
12:14 You were the first — last question, go ahead. You were the first one to amplify there's 16-game players and there are 82-game players. When did you first recognize that from what you saw?
12:27 I think early in my career. You start playing playoff basketball and initially you realize the difference. You realize the difference in intensity. You realize the difference in the amount of focus it requires. You realize how much more you have to raise your level than the regular season. And so I think initially it's going through that and being like, man. And then you see it and you start to see people fold, guys who you watched all regular season and then they get in the playoffs and you're like, whoa, who is that? And to have the level of success that we had, that we've had, you quickly realize like, ah, you bring in some guys, right? And you're like, oh man, we've played against this guy. He's crushed us. Regular season basketball, you bring those guys in, you get to the playoffs, they can't think straight, so you quickly realize, like, ah. There's guys that's made for this 82 and there's guys that's made for the 16. In an ideal world, you're made for both, but it ain't always ideal. And so me personally, I'd rather have a 16-game guy. 82, yeah you need it. It's important, but I've just seen too many guys over the course of my career and, like I said, starting early, that when they get to time for the 16, they're like a shell of themselves and quickly realize like, all right, this ain't for everybody. There's guys that get in the regular season and they're gonna get their points, they're gonna get whatever to make it look good to get their money, but when it's time to win that ain't the guy you want on your side. So I figured that out pretty early in my career, just due to the level of success that we had.
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