Cavs Insider

Cavaliers Star Throws Obvious Shade at Warriors' Draymond Green

This Cleveland Cavaliers star threw some very clear shots at Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
Matthew Schmidt|
Jan 20, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) talks to Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green after the game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Jan 20, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) talks to Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green after the game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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The competition for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award may be a two-horse race between Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, but Darius Garland doesn't think it should be all that close.

Following a recent Cavaliers win, Garland explained Mobley's case to reporters and took some very clear shots at Green in the process.

“He doesn’t hack. He doesn’t scream at the refs. He goes and blocks shots. His deflection numbers are out the roof,” Garland said. “He guards one through five. I mean, what doesn’t he do? He just doesn’t express it how other people express it."

In other words, because Mobley is not as emotional or fiery as Green, his defensive prowess may not appears as dominant as that of the Warriors legend.

“That’s just a little bit of my case,” Garland added. “I can go on Twitter, and go on podcasts, and do the same thing for my boy. But, I’m [going to] let him talk his talk whenever he wants to.”

Mobley made his first All-Star team this year courtesy of averaging 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks over 30.4 minutes per game on 56.0/37.3/72.9 shooting splits. To add to his Defensive Player of the Year case, Cleveland is 3.1 points per 100 possessions better defensively when Mobley is on the floor.

The 23-year-old actually finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting during his sophomore NBA campaign in 2022-23, earning a First-Team All-Defense selection that year, as well.

Green took home Defensive Player of the Year honors back during the 2016-17 season and has finished within the top five of award voting four times.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

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