With their No. 1 star Stephen Curry, out of action, the Golden State Warriors faced a highly daunting task of facing the young, versatile, and aggressive New Orleans Pelicans in back-to-back games. With Draymond Green expected to be their on-court anchor, he also took on the challenge of guarding the Pelicans’ most dominant paint scorer – Zion Williamson. Though the former DPOY managed to lead the Dubs to victories in both contests, he recently admitted to enduring a physical toll while guarding ‘Zanos.’
Green calls Williamson ‘powerful’
Unlike modern-day forwards, Zion Williamson rarely shoots from long range; instead, he uses his 6’6” and 284-pound frame to relentlessly attack the rim and overpower defenders. Green got a complete sense of the 24-year-old’s strength when he scored a game-high 31 points in their first matchup. While ‘Dray’ couldn’t entirely stop the two-time All-Star from scoring, he did put enough pressure on him to force seven turnovers.
Though the 2022 NBA Champs did secure an 18-point win in their first matchup against New Orleans, Draymond was certain that Zion would bounce back with added determination to dominate the rim. However, when the action unfolded, the four-time NBA Champion excelled further, holding Williamson to 12 points on 25 percent shooting, while he added 14 points, including 3 three-pointers to secure another win.