I am not a Draymond Green hater. I appreciate what he brings to the Golden State Warriors. His stats aren’t imposing, but Green has such a great basketball mind. That is why he is able to have such a big impact on the game without being a great scoring threat. His basketball mind is why he was a great addition to the NBA on TNT team, and why his podcast has been successful. Which leads me to why Green should stop podcasting during the NBA Finals.
We know the old saying of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Green has been podcasting throughout the entire post season. Prior to the NBA Finals, this approach has worked. Golden State advanced through the Western Conference playoffs, and Green’s playoff numbers were on par with his regular season numbers. But this approach is now broken.
Anyone who has ever been on a podcast knows the amount of preparation that goes into each episode. Sure Green has to do less prep work than the average podcaster, as he is an active participant in the games that he is talking about. But since each episode is being recorded after most games, I am going to assume that Green is up late putting together his podcast. Staying up late will obviously cut into your sleep/recovery, and sleep is super important for high level athletes like Draymond Green. Podcasting will also take your focus off of preparing for the Finals. Even if Green is able to balance the two, having your attention diverted for period of time can hurt you. This is why LeBron James stayed away from social media during the playoffs when he was at his peak.
Most important game of the season
The Warriors are trailing the Celtics 2-1 in the Finals, with the Celtics having the series’ momentum. Green has not played well during these NBA Finals. He is averaging 5.0 points and 5.0 fouls per game in this series. In Games 1 and 3, Green finished with more fouls than points. I don’t want to be mean, but that is really really bad.
Green is too important to the Warriors to be distracted in any capacity. With all the media attention that is around him right now to go along with managing his podcast, I feel like his attention is diverted. That can’t happen. As the Warriors go into game 3 (which is the most important game of their season so far), they need a focused Draymond Green.
Don’t believe me?
If you don’t believe me, listen to what the great Isiah Thomas has to say.
