Draymond Green fires back at Rasheed Wallace's take citing '04 Pistons' scoring average: "Let's see you move them feet"
Draymond Green disagreed with Rasheed Wallace’s point about his Detroit Pistons team being better than Green’s Golden State Warriors. The 2004 Pistons get a lot of respect for winning the NBA Championship with an all-time great defense. However, most fans and pundits would rank the 2017 Warriors above the Pistons and other historic teams.
Wallace said Stephen Curry would struggle to guard All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups and how Green is too small to deal with slowing down either Ben Wallace or Rasheed Wallace, and he made an even bolder claim that Kevin Durant couldn’t guard Tayshaun Prince.
Draymond Green chimed in with his own X response and provided his perspective on the hypothetical situation. Golden State’s defensive leader said the following about the Warriors having an easy time getting past the Pistons if the teams matched up.
"Sheed we would’ve smacked yall. Yall was scoring 72 points per game. That’s not winning a half. And we putting you and them big ass forces in every pick and roll. Let’s see you move them feet. That one ring was great though big bro. We all appreciated it!"
The conversation always returns to the rings topic because both teams had multiple years at the top of their conferences. Green joked about Detroit only winning one NBA championship, especially since Golden State won four in his era with two in the Durant years. Wallace was adamant about his roster construction and a superior defense being enough to take down a super team.
Draymond Green and Rasheed Wallace are also arguing about which era was better
There are plenty of instances where players debate their era being better than other eras. This conversation comes down to that issue, with two drastically different teams designed for their respective eras in basketball.
The Detroit Pistons played a smash-mouth style of defense that stifled their opponents. Teams with legends like Jason Kidd, Reggie Miller, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal struggled to score against the 2004 Pistons defense.
However, Draymond Green and other modern players never played in a time when physical defense was allowed and encouraged. Golden State had the same scenario play out, but it was their offense that represented a change in the NBA.
No opposing defense could stop the Warriors’ 3-point shooting, so other teams tried to catch up to them. Green stands out as the top Golden State defender who helped anchor the team during their winning seasons, but that isn’t as easy of a task without the offense.