Draymond Green didn't mention Damian Lillard by name on Wednesday, but he clearly saw the Portland Trail Blazers guard's comments about the Golden State Warriors' defense being "just not the same" without Andrew Bogut -- and Green did not agree with him. After the Warriors' 127-104 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Green said that the criticism fired him up, via CBS Sports' Ananth Pandian.
"I thought it was great for us to come out and put that kind of game together on the defensive end, especially when our defense has been called out, that there's no anchor and it's not the same and all that," Green said. "I think some opinions will change, sooner than later. But until then, we'll just keep doing that. And when they change, we'll keep doing that, still. It's fun to do that.
"I love when people say stuff like that," he continued. "I take it personal. And so I appreciate it. It really got me going on that end tonight. And I felt amazing out there. And I think our defense was amazing. So I love when people say stuff like that. Continue to do it."
Golden State held Portland to a 97 points per 100 possessions and 43 percent shooting at Moda Center. While Lillard scored 31 points on 8-for-19 shooting, he had just two assists and most of his teammates were neutralized. Meanwhile, the Warriors got contributions up and down their roster -- the most notable performance was Ian Clark scoring 22 points on 8-for-8 shooting, but reserves Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and David West were on the court for big runs, too.
Given the amount of attention that has been given to the Warriors' supposed lack of rim protection and depth, this felt like a statement game of sorts. The Blazers have real firepower, especially in the backcourt, and they challenged Golden State in the playoffs last season. As CBS Sports' Matt Moore noted, Portland shot 13-for-22 at the rim and missed 10 of their other 11 attempts in the paint. The Warriors also controlled the defensive boards, limiting the Blazers to six offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points.
It will take more than one blowout victory for the concerns about this super-team to go away, but this was a nice start. Maybe they just need more opponents to talk about their deficiencies.
