NBA Finals: Draymond Green laughs off Magic Johnson’s comments, says there’s no need to compare eras
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors speaks to the media during practice on June 6, 2017, in Cleveland, one day before Game 3 fo the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers. Credit: EPA / LARRY W. SMITH
CLEVELAND — Draymond Green got a good laugh out of Magic Johnson saying his Showtime Lakers would have swept these Golden State Warriors.
When he was done laughing, Green said, “That’s my thoughts.”
The Warriors are the most dominant team in the NBA right now. They’ve won all 14 playoff games they’ve played this postseason, after winning 67 games in the regular season — one year after setting an NBA record with 73 regular-season wins.
They’re up 2-0 on the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, and need two more wins to capture their second championship in three years. Johnson’s Lakers’ won five titles in the 1980s.
In claiming, “we would probably sweep ’em,” Johnson said the Warriors “are too small” and have no one who could matchup with Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson made the comments at a recent event hosted by American Express that also included Pat Riley.
But Green contends it doesn’t make any sense to compare teams or players from different eras because the game has changed so much.
“Nowadays if you can’t shoot a three, you’re a liability on the floor,” Green said before the Warriors practiced Tuesday to get ready for Game 3 Wednesday night. “That wasn’t the case back then.
“I never understand when people try to compare eras and say, ‘This team could have beat that team’ or ‘They couldn’t have beat that team,’ or ‘This player is better than that player.’ It doesn’t make sense to me because you’re kind of talking two different games. I never really understand that or get off into it. They were great in their time. We’re great in our time. Respect that.”
Green said if he let himself get into the who’s better debate, he could say no one could keep up with the Warriors.
“We would say, ‘We would have ran them off that gym,’” Green said. “But is that true? I don’t know. We’ll never know. But in the same sense I don’t think they were as fast as we are. I sound stupid, right? I think I sound stupid because that’s how all of that be sounding to me.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
