Darius Garland advocates for Evan Mobley as DPOY, takes a dig at Draymond Green: “He doesn’t hack, he doesn’t scream at referees” | NBA News

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Darius Garland has taken it upon himself to pitch his Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Evan Mobley for the Defensive Player of the Year award—an honor that Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green also has his eyes on. In a post-win interview, Garland not only highlighted Mobley’s strengths and achievements but also threw some shade at Green, saying, “He just doesn’t express it how other people express it.”

Darius Garland subtly compares Evan Mobley with Draymond Green

Draymond Green, who previously won the DPOY award in 2017, is making a strong push to claim it again, saying this may be his last best chance to secure the honor. Advocating for Mobley while subtly comparing him to Green without mentioning his name, Garland told reporters, “He doesn’t hack, he doesn’t scream at the refs, he goes [and] blocks shots. His deflection numbers is out the roof. He guards one through five. I mean, what doesn’t he do? He just doesn’t express it how other people express it.”
Praising Mobley further, Garland added, “If you look at the numbers, if you watch a Cavs game, you see all the impact that he does for us on both sides of the ball, just not defense. But, since we’re on DPOY, blocks, deflections, switching out one through five on elite guards. It’s really a guard league right now, and he’s switching out on some of the top guards in the league, and really holding his own. We all staying at home when he gets a switch. That’s how much confidence we have in him.”
Garland went on to take a dig at Green, saying “So, that’s just a little bit of my case. I can go on Twitter, and go on podcasts, and do the same thing for my boy. But, I’mma let him talk his talk whenever he wants to.”
After Garland was done with singing praise of Mobley, the latter emphasised that his teammate has already said enough. He went on to add, “My biggest thing is a guy my size, my wingspan, my agility; you don’t really see that in the contenders. There’s nobody even close to that. And also the stats, as well, I mean speak for itself. The blocks, the fouls, I mean, I don’t foul. Steals, deflections, also, people don’t even go up against me in the paint, so that’s not even a stat. There’s a lot.”
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The power forward Mobley is averaging 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists per game this season. Meanwhile, Green is averaging 9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game this season. Who do you think should take away the Defensive Player of the Year award this year?