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Draymond Green on LeBron James: “He’s arguably the smartest guy to ever play this game”

James-Green-NBA-Finals

Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Prior to pivotal Game 6, Golden State Warriors defensive mastermind Draymond Green was asked about the mental aspect of the series and where it ranks to the previous title challenges against LeBron James-led teams.

“It doesn’t compare to mentally playing against LeBron James, who I think is arguably the smartest guy to ever play this game. Not one of, he is arguably the smartest guy to set foot on a basketball court,” James said.

“To say that it compares to that, it’s disrespectful to LeBron and it’s a lie to you.”

Draymond Green has been experiencing a tough finals’ series vs Boston. However, on Thursday, Green and the Warriors will hit the TD Garden court with a three-games-to-two series lead.

The biggest challenge of the series as of now for Green is the physical challenge the Celtics provide. With the likes of Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Robert Williams Boston became one of the best defenses in the league.

“It is a challenge mentally because these guys are super athletic. They are super young and fast and strong, and all the things that we know and have heard throughout the course of this series,” Green said on the challenge the Warriors facing in this series.

James provided both a mental and a physical challenge in the Finals against the Warriors. He’s known for his high basketball IQ and his ability to change the course of a game in many ways, either by scoring or creating for others.

Green admitted a game against a LeBron-led team is more like a chess match, as the Lakers’ superstar has the ability to dissect the game in real time like a computer. The Celtics are playing in a very different way.

“So I think that’s been huge in this series (vs Boston) from a mental standpoint and just trying to understand and be a step ahead of them. But not as much of a chess match as it is when you’re playing LeBron, who is dissecting every play in that computer of his, like in real time,” Green said.

“Like that’s just a skill that not many people possess. Not many people can come and sit here and find a random stretch from seven minutes to four minutes in the second quarter and give you every play like to the T and not miss a beat. There’s not many people that can do that,” the Warriors’ star concluded on how it feels facing James.

For four straight years, Draymond Green and the Warriors had to figure out a way to beat a LeBron James-led team in the NBA Finals. But they managed to do it three out of the four years before LeBron left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers.

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