Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green made it abundantly clear to Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard to stay out of the paint.
While Portland Trail Blazers’ star point guard Damian Lillard will want to attack the rim ferociously to give his underdog Trail Blazers team a chance in their Western Conference Semifinals series with the Golden State Warriors, Warriors power forward Draymond Green wanted absolutely none of that nonsense early in Game 1 by swatting away Lillard’s weak attempt at a layup.
Draymond telling Dame Lillard to GTFO the paint pic.twitter.com/G2BqtT9JzY
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 1, 2016
In 2015-16, both Green and Lillard have easily been two of the top 15 players in the NBA. Green will almost certainly make an All-NBA team as the most versatile power forward in the game today. Lillard led a Trail Blazers team that lost four of its five starters from last year all the way to the Western Conference Semifinals.
While both players are outstanding at what they do best, Lillard driving and kicking from the paint and Green defending every player above 6’3″, it seems that Green is not going to let Lillard have his way in the paint in this second round series.
If Green can appropriately protect the rim when the Warriors decide to go small with him at the five in this series, it could be a long, four-game sweep the Trail Blazers could hopelessly endure.
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