Lakers News: Draymond Green Claims He Won't Adjust Defensive Approach After Miserable Game 3

And he's the last person we would expect to do so.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors find themselves in a tight second round series amidst a 2023 Playoffs that has featured some quite interesting officiating all around.

LA was able to come out on top and win game three on Saturday with a final score of 127-97. Anthony Davis and LeBron James themselves quite the night as they both notched over 20 points and were able to thrive in transition in the third quarter that defined the game.

Anthony Davis & LeBron James tonight:

Anthony Davis:
25 points
13 rebounds
7/10
3 steals
4 blocks

LeBron James:
21 points
8 assists
8 rebounds
6/11
2/4 from 3
1 block

Lakers take 2-1 lead. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/Moy819itzQ

— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) May 7, 2023

The biggest difference between this game and the last one that LA dropped was the amount of times they were able to reach the free throw line. The Lakers were able to shoot 37 free throws compared to the 17 that Golden State got and majority were taken by LA's superstar duo.

Even through his age and production dropping, Draymond Green is still the most important defensive player on the Warriors for a multitude of reasons. His communication is top-tier, he backs down from nobody, and he has been on numerous championship rosters.

However, he was virtually unplayable on Saturday as not only did he post a stat line of just 2,4, and 2 but he also committed five fouls and could not contain anybody during LA's scoring surge.

"I won't adapt. I'm going to keep playing the same defense I've played for 11 years."

Draymond addresses his defensive philosophy given the way this series has been called pic.twitter.com/1vhVgisWSn

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 7, 2023

Nonetheless, Green does not believe he needs to make any adjustments moving forward despite his disagreements with how the refs view his current defense being played.

"You don't really get explanations these days," said Green. "I won't adapt, I'm going to keep playing the same defense I've been playing for 11 years."

(Via NBCS)

Green has never gotten along with refs but it's been on clear display this postseason. He continues to argue after every call and it all goes back to his infamous exchange with Domantis Sabonis in round one.

But the NBA as a whole is dealing with a new style of officiating right now as there have been more flagrant fouls as of late than usual. It feels like every rough foul is being reviewed at this point to ensure no extra intent was used and there are mixed feelings about it from the NBA world.

Andre had some words for the refs after Moody received a Flagrant 1 foul pic.twitter.com/KUwSc3gn4X

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 7, 2023

All in all, AD, LeBron, and the rest of the purple and gold just need to continue the way they've been playing and not let the officiating battle involve them.