Damian Lillard Defends Danny Green Over Game 5 Miss

Danny Green has come under a lot of fire for his crucial Game 5 miss. If he made that shot, the NBA season would have been over and the LA Lakers would be champions. However, he missed it and now we are hours away from Game 6. But there has been no respite for Green, who has been receiving death threats over his missed shot.

NBA players have understandably been more supportive. This included one of the most clutch shooters in the NBA, Damian Lillard. Dame has hit some game-winning shots in the Playoffs before. However, so has Green. Green is one of the best shooters in NBA Finals history. While this Finals series against Miami has been hard for him, he has an impressive pedigree in those moments.

Lillard spoke to Hall of Famer David Aldridge, who revealed what Dame said to The Athletic.

“Danny Green is a 2x champion and has played with great players who have trusted him in big moments time and time again… he’s proven as a big shot maker at the highest level and on big stage… he just missed it. Great look that he missed. I cope with misses because I accept that with the big makes come big misses… and when you don’t accept that ‘it happens’ you sit in it and can become a head case… you just have to chalk (it up) to the game and move on.”

Danny Green and his redemption

Green has to come out with a crazy performance in Game 6. While obviously he is cold this series and maybe shouldn’t try to over-extend himself, he also does need to remind people who he is. He dropped six threes in game three of the 2019 NBA Finals and is the only player from that series in the Finals this season. He is loaded with Finals experience and is one win away from his third championship.

Green is making $15 million a year because of his playoff abilities. While we are yet to see those this time around, that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Game 6 will be big for Danny Green only because of how severely it may impact his legacy if the Lakers go down in these Finals.