On Thursday afternoon, the Golden State Warriors will hit the floor at home for a Christmas Day game against the Dallas Mavericks. The fact that the Warriors are still able to secure Christmas games year after year despite not having been in the mix for a championship in quite some time is a true testament to the star power of Stephen Curry, who has been on a heater in recent weeks for the Dubs.
Curry's teammate Draymond Green has been in the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons, having gotten into a spat with head coach Steve Kerr during a recent home game against the Orlando Magic. On Christmas, Green will have his hands full in trying to stop Mavericks rookie, number one overall draft pick Cooper Flagg, who has gotten off to an excellent start to his NBA career.
Recently, Green spoke on his admiration for Flagg at this early stage of his career.
“One thing I can appreciate about him is that he does it on both ends of the floor. … Dallas got a bright future with Cooper Flagg,” said Green, during an appearance with ESPN's “Inside the NBA” before the games got underway on Thursday.
Flagg has indeed shown all of the potential that had Mavericks fans so excited about winning the draft lottery last year, with the ability to drive into the lane with the best of them, pass at a solid level, and also block shots around the rim on defense. As Flagg's outside jumper continues to improve, he will only get more and more difficult to guard for opposing defenses.
Green remains one of the best defenders in the NBA even at his current age, so it will be interesting to see who wins the battle of youth vs experience between him and Flagg on Thursday.
The Mavericks and Warriors are slated to tip off at 5:00 pm ET.
