Shaquille O'Neal lauds Draymond Green impact amidst negativity around Golden State Warriors
Throughout his career, Draymond Green has been criticized for his on-court antics compared to his actual impact on the game. However, one Hall of Famer recently came to his defense on social media.
The Golden State Warriors struggled for a majority of this season, but are turning things around at the right time. They are currently 8-2 over their last 10 games and are in the hunt for a playoff spot. One turning point for Golden State has been Green making his return to the lineup.
LA Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal posted a picutre on his Instagram story of the Warriors' stats since Green's return from suspension. They have one of the NBA's top records in that stretch, and lead in multiple statistical categories.
The post Shaq shared can be seen bleow:
Green missed 16 games after punching Phoenix Suns big man Jusuf Nurkic. This marked the former Defensive Player of the Year's second suspenison this season. Green was forced to sit five games earlier this year after choking Rudy Gobert during a scuffle with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Since returning, Draymond Green has done it all for the Warriors. In the month of February, he is averaging 9.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists.
Draymond Green speaks on Golden State Warriors' latest scuffle
Last week, things got out of hand between the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets. After the game ended, an altercation ensued when two players started going at one another.
The situation ensued after the Warriors took a shot in the final seconds depite being up big. Hornets players did not like this, which eventually led to a scuffle between both teams. The two sides managed to work things out, but that didn't stop Draymond Green from taking a jab at one member of the Hornets.
During his postgame press conference, Draymond Green talked about the scuffle that ensued at the end of the game. He proceeded to single out Grant Williams, who was in the middle of it all. Green feels Williams has gotten into it with a lot of players this year, and his constant talking led to his departure from the Dallas Mavericks.
"Talking too much kind of got you out of Dallas, like overdoing it," Green said. "He’s over there talking too much now. Might want to slow down and stop all the tough guy stuff."
Green is of course refercing some of the reports that came out after Williams was traded from Dallas to Charlotte. After acquiring him in the offseason, the Mavericks traded the veteran forward after just 47 games. Following the move, reports emerged that this trade happened partially because members of the team weren't fond of his antics on and off the court.