Rare birds of a feather
Smart, Green mirror each other
They were born just two days (and four years) apart. They are separated by three inches in height and three NBA championship rings.
In all three cases, Draymond Green has more than Marcus Smart. From more service time on Earth to the accessories that come with being part of a champion — three All-Star Game appearances, Defensive Player of the Year three seasons ago — the Warriors’ warrior is a few steps ahead of the Celtics’ chief scrambler of eggs.
But the two have been compared very favorably to one another, and Green is among those who find that apt.
“Definitely,” he said Thursday morning as Golden State prepared to take on the Celts several hours hence. “Just really being that guy who’s bringing that competitive edge to the game for your team every night, being that emotional leader. I think it’s just really approaching the game with a no-nonsense mentality — you know, being the guy who’s kind of going to connect the dots for the team.
“I think he’s very important, the role that he plays here, from an offensive standpoint of kind of being a facilitator and leader who settles them down and gets them into things that they need to get into. And then from a defensive standpoint, just kind of (expletive)-ing up the other team’s offense. You’ve seen Marcus guard point guards, you’ve seen him guard 4-men, so he’s doing whatever it is to connect those dots to help your team win.”
Green’s coach is on board with the separated-at-sneakers nature of the two.
“It’s a good comparison,” said Steve Kerr, an assistant on Team USA for the FIBA World Cup. “Marcus is superisn’t competitive and volatile and emotional and wears it on his sleeve. I mean, I enjoyed coaching him this summer. He was a guy on the bus that all the energy kind of revolved around him, and you could feel his power. And that power, much like Draymond, can be volatile.
“Avery Johnson used to have a saying that I loved. He’d say, ‘Same thing makes you laugh makes you cry.’ So with guys like Marcus and Draymond, they’re so passionate and competitive that that volatility can tip you in either direction sometimes. So as a coach, for me with Draymond, it’s always been a balancing act just trying to make sure that the scale is going to the positive side with that emotion. But you realize as coach that you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to be perfect all the time.’ Because that’s not how it works. If you want somebody to be that emotional and passionate and competitive, then they’re going to go off the deep end sometimes, and you have to live with that.”
Both Smart and Green have gotten into trouble with their temper. Both have been fined and suspended.
But there are no insurance policies for high-wire intensity. One cannot live on the edge without going over it on occasion.
“Absolutely,” said Green. “You have to have that. You can’t bring this competitive nature and have everything be just blah. Those two things don’t mix. So that’s definitely something that comes with it, but, you know, there’s a price to pay and there’s things that come with winning. Winning always cute. It isn’t always easy. You need somebody to bring that fire to the team, somebody to really bring that edge. And I think that’s what both of us are able to provide.”
Before they can provide plays like crashing through traffic to keep a rebound alive or diving on the floor to keep a loose ball, even if it’s to knock the rock out of bounds and prevent an opponent’s fast break, they must be cool with the fact that many of their contributions won’t land in the basic box score.
“For sure,” Green said. “You definitely have to be comfortable with yourself. I know for me personally and just watching his game, you’re not watching the stat sheet. You’re worried about one stat, and that’s winning. And whatever you have to do on any given night to help contribute to that, you do. I see a lot of that same stuff in him.”
Kerr certainly appreciates it.
“And if you talk to Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) about Draymond, they would rave about his impact on winning,” he said. “And if they really opened up and were honest with you, they would say, ‘Yeah, he does some (expletive) that doesn’t make sense. But we live with it, because it’s who he is and it’s one of the things that makes him great.’
“We’re all flawed. We’re all human. But the one thing at this level is, if you don’t have competitors, you have no chance. No chance. So Draymond, I’ve called him our heart and soul for years, and I’ll go to battle with him any day of the week. I love Draymond.
“I know this,” said Kerr. “I would take Marcus and Draymond on my team. I’d take both of them on my team all day any day, because, at their core, they’re both winners.”