Draymond Green makes Defensive Player of the Year case vs Giannis, Bucks – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

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SAN FRANCISCO – News began to spread Monday night in the Warriors’ locker room that the Denver Nuggets would be without Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and Christian Bruan a little more than an hour before tipoff. 

Relief wasn’t felt. Disappointment was, perhaps from Draymond Green more than anybody. 

Battling Jokić, a three-time NBA MVP who is averaging a triple-double this season, is like wrestling a bear blindfolded. All you hope for is survival. Most don’t make it out. But those are the challenges Green lives for. 

It’s not like Draymond didn’t show up in the Warriors’ letdown of a loss to the Nuggets, especially defensively, where he had five blocked shots and three steals. If his intensity always is at a 10, though, he turned the knob to 12 or higher 24 hours later guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo in a game where the Warriors were without Steph Curry against the Milwaukee Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back. 

The Warriors needed to set a tone early Tuesday night, and fire could be felt rising from the Chase Center hardwood, with Green being the architect of a gut-check 104-93 win over the Bucks. 

“He’s always like that. It’s not just Giannis. He don’t give a damn who he’s going against. If he’s going up against a damn five-year-old,” Jimmy Butler said, earning laughs from reporters. “No, seriously. He would hate for that individual to score on him, and he wouldn’t want anybody helping. It’s like, this is my matchup, this is on me and I got to get a stop.” 

Green let Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Bucks know what kind of night they were in for from the start. Within the first four and a half minutes of the game, he already blocked three shots, beginning with the Bucks’ opening possession where Green trailed Antetokounmpo, stayed vertical and met him under the basket. Green’s second blocked shot was his most impressive, highlighting how unique of a defender he is. 

A mere two minutes after Green’s first block, he showed on a Damian Lillard high screen, going past the free-throw line, only to recover quick enough to flip his…

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Publish date : 2025-03-19 12:33:00

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