Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried and San Antonio Spurs wingman Danny Green had the chance to speak to members of the media during a visit to the Philippines as part of the NBA 3x event this coming weekend.
Along with the NBA stars are the Golden State Warriors Dance Team and Philadelphia 76ers mascot Franklin who are also going to grace the three-day event from August 28 to 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Faried talked about how he finds way to thrive in the era of stretch forwards, saying he does the things that the typical modern-day forward do not do and he exerts more effort on those aspects of the game.
“I think because everybody wants to be finesse or okay, I can shoot the three, I go bang (bodies) and do stuff that lead up to the center (position). I get the advantage against other forwards by doing things they aren’t used to,” Faried said.
NBA.com writer John Schuhmann wrote last year about Faried’s ability to “break the mold” of modern-day forwards because of his bounce and incredible hustle.
Faried himself grew up emulating hardworking forwards like Dennis Rodman and Charles Barkley and the style of play of those two legends have given the Nuggets forward important lessons.
“They showed me how to play hard and give it your all, and to never give up and don’t listen to your critics,” Faried shared.
“All critics are going to do is to find something wrong with you and if I listened to that I am never going to make it where I made it today.”
Green meanwhile took note of the importance of the three-point shot and how teams are starting to put premium on spacing the floor and spreading the defense with sharpshooters.
Green set a record for most three-pointers in a finals series when he made 27 during the 2013 Finals which the Miami Heat won.
“That is where the game is adjusting to. Early on it was post ups and getting the ball inside. Now it’s perimeter-oriented and shooting teams making the three. The teams making the most uncontested shots in the perimeter usually win the game,” Green said, even mentioning how the Golden State Warriors emphasized the trend when they won the 2015 NBA title.
“Obviously Golden State winning the championship emphasized that more. They’re a very perimeter-oriented team and even goes small ball with their bigs, Draymond (Green) playing the four, he shoots threes. I think a lot of teams are trying to move in that direction,” the Spurs shooter said.
Gregg Popovich’s system also emphasizes that ball movement and unselfishness, and Green added with the presence of acquisitions LaMarcus Aldridge and David West, the Spurs will be able to mix it up in the upcoming season.
“It’s a faster pace and it seems most undersized guys can guard bigger guys now. But we have bigger guys so we have to exploit that advantage, try to mix and match by doing a fast-paced small ball a little bit and going bigger sometimes,” he said.
Both Faried and Green are focused on improving their games and contributing to their respective teams’ success.
“Personally I am improving every part of my  game. Every time I go out there and play or practice, I need to improve on something. And that is everything. Every part of my game I can improve on, I try to improve on,” Faried said.
Asked about his decision to stay with the Spurs, Green says it is an opportunity to achieve more in the future.
“It’s home for me and I think we have a pretty good chance of doing something special again in the future. It was home for me. It was an easy decision and pretty much they gave me an opportunity. And the fans there, you got to love them. It’s hard for me to leave,” he said.
