Draymond Green in the NBA Playoffs has been great for the Warriors, being a big part of their success without Durant and with Curry, but why? #NBA #Warriors Instagram- @MJ2K_ALLDAY
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I’m just gonna come out and say it. Watching the Warriors without Kevin Durant is more fun than with Kevin Durant. It’s the truth. Having the Warriors return back to their old ways with Steph Curry at the helm has been more exciting, maybe because we get to see MVP Curry or maybe because we feel that the Warriors are more vulnerable, giving more meaning to their games. But they’ve been successful in large part due to Draymond Green reprising his offensive role as the 3rd option on offense and he’s made a key change from the regular season. So I wanna talk about what makes Draymond Green so good and yeah I’m also talking about offense. Not that offense. I’m going to make a video on the best way to defend Curry so if you want that, let’s try to get to 3523 likes for that on Friday.
Draymond is a pretty good rebounder, and often times is in the paint defending the pick and rolls. Since Durant has been out, Draymond Green has averaged 14.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 8.4 assists. All those rebounds mean that Draymond Green can initiate the offense and bring the ball up, but what makes Green so special is that he can push the ball right after getting the rebound. With guys like Curry and Klay running on the wings alongside Dray, that opens the lane. He’s said that he prefers a half-open shot for Klay versus an open shot for him. And he’s probably right since he’s shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs. You could see it in Game 3 and Game 4, he was looking to push and create fast break opportunities. Draymond didn’t do it much in the regular season and a big reason for that was his weight. Yeah his weight was not the best playing weight for him and the Warriors GM Bob Myers told Dray to lose over 20 pounds before the postseason. That’s a lot. He dropped 23 pounds in 6 weeks and now he can push the pace at a faster rate and more times.
That’s his fastbreak offense, but some of that leaks into his half-court offense. Draymond operates the offense from 2 main positions, the post and as the roller. As I said before, the Warriors want the double team on Curry and Klay because usually that means Draymond is wide open. When Draymond gets the ball typically at the top of key or near the 3 point line, he has a line drive right to the rim, similar to his fast break offense. Because the double has happened on the perimeter, those two defenders are out of the play, unless Draymond is slow. That leaves 3 defenders for 4 people and because Draymond is moving at a fast pace, someone has to try to step up to Dre. He’s quick at making that read and either lobs it or looks for that corner 3. This isn’t possible with most rollers in the NBA because they don’t have that quick decision making or that quickness at that size, but Dre does.
Now about Draymond Green’s defense. There are so many things he does well on defense, but the two most important things are his communication and his ability to switch onto anybody. Green is the defensive anchor. I like to call him the defensive quarterback. He’s making all the adjustments in real time, directing his own teammates on defense, having them switch off-ball, covering up for them when they make mistakes. He’s actually a roamer, moving all around, blitzing defenders, doubling others. It’s actually really beautiful to watch and almost none of it shows up in the stats. And Green switches from 1-5 and does a really good job at forcing the offensive player into the defense. As the guard, like CP3 or Harden starts to drive into the paint, Draymond simultaneously defends the guard by keeping them in front and close along with guarding the pass to the roller. It’s something that is so hard to do while backpedaling, but he does it. The key to it is that Green moves at the same pace of the roller without ever running backing. He backpedals while keeping the roller just behind him and can then lunge out at the guard or get in the passing lane. It’s something that he can do at his size and strength.
So much with Draymond Green and what he does doesn’t show up in the stats. It’s intangibles that are necessary to win. That’s what Draymond was before Kevin Durant joined the Warriors and that’s what he’s done these playoffs. He’s the heart and soul of the Warriors and a true leader in the locker room. He makes all the winning plays and while he might have not had a great regular season, he’s having an amazing playoffs and is necessary for the Warriors to win the championship. But what do you think? Will the Warriors win the championship without Kevin Durant?
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