Draymond Green Steps Up Big Against Pacers
As the Warriors struggle through Curry’s attempts to break the all-time record, one guy is looking like the clock has turned back to 2016: Draymond Green. After what he himself referred to as a middling performance against the 76ers earlier this weekend (although he used a little more colorful language to do so), Draymond took some accountability and played like the beast we all know he is.
Green’s play was one of the highlights in an ugly slugfest against the Pacers, where there wasn’t a lot to be happy about from the Warriors. Naturally, of course, when Draymond plays the way he did tonight, the Warriors are far more prone to winning. After a lacking performance in Philly, Green tweeted out some motivation that showed he was ready to bring it. And damn, did he bring it.
We’ll go piece-by-piece and show just how integral Draymond was to the win tonight, and how him playing aggressively (specifically on the offensive end) opens up the floor for everybody else in a different way to Steph Curry that’s almost as important to the team’s success. In games like this, where he has a season-high in points, that much becomes obvious.
The first positive showing from Draymond’s aggressive play is off the pick and roll with Steph. The reason that historically teams had such difficulty blitzing screens to double Curry is because he can get the ball to Green, who rarely makes the wrong play in a 4v3 situation. Tonight, Green’s authoritative rolls forced the Pacers to move more towards traditional drop-coverage, opening up the floor for Steph to play a little freer.
The second positive showing is that when Draymond’s shooting well from the floor, he garners more defensive attention. His floater has noticeably improved since last season and even earlier this season, forcing paint protectors to step up a little more to contest those shots. He forced Myles Turner to do this a lot tonight, which made it easier for the Warriors to get quality looks in the paint despite poor shooting from three. This, of course, makes it easier for dump-offs and kick-outs to get made correctly as well.
The third positive showing is that a good rebounding team becomes even better. When Draymond’s active on the boards, he’s able to give the Warriors a boon that pushes them into somehow one of the best rebounding teams in the league despite their tallest player currently active being 6’9. His hustle shows up and motivates the other guys to do the little things. Tonight, against a big board-getter like Sabonis, he was key in making sure the Warriors were able to stay competitive in that facet of the game
There’s no doubt that Green’s defensive energy, as well, is just as important. It translates on both ends of the floor: The offense gets juiced up after a big defensive sequence. It pushes the adrenaline for the team, and an all-time defender like Draymond Green who can make big-time plays like that while also doing the little things is special to have on the roster.
The turnovers, obviously, are always a point of concern. But Draymond’s game IQ is high enough for that to be very fixable as the season moves forward. His play tonight is what won the Warriors the game tonight, and they’ll be plenty ready against the New York Knicks for what fans hope is the game that Stephen Curry finally claims the three-point crown.
(Photo credit: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)