CLICK HERE if you are having a problem viewing the photos or videos on a mobile device
OAKLAND — A little more than a month ago, in an anonymous poll of NBA players conducted by The Athletic, Draymond Green was voted the most overrated player in the NBA.
I sure hope no Portland Trail Blazers were part of that “winning” tally.
Because if they were, they learned a truth the Warriors — and apparently too few others around the NBA — already know. And they learned it the hard way: Green is a force of nature, both invaluable and irreplaceable to the NBA’s best team.
STEPH: COOLEST EXPERIENCE EVER
Overrated? Only if you fail to rate league-changing defense, elite playmaking, and the uncanny and nearly singular ability to bring out the best in a team that will likely go down as the greatest dynasty of the NBA’s modern era.
Those things seem pretty important to me.
In the days, weeks, and months to come, the Warriors’ Game 2 victory over the Blazers will surely be forgotten. Bigger games and bigger moments are on the horizon, and no one remembers a Game 2, anyway — much less one in what should be a short series.
But the fact that Thursday’s game will soon be forgotten is a shame.
That’s because the second half of the contest one of the best examples to date of Green’s indelible impact to these Warriors. It was the kind of performance that proved his value — the kind of game that should ensure no one ever claims that he’s overrated again.
THE WORLD IS WATCHING, AND LOVING, THE CURRY BATTLE
The Warriors — who sleepwalked through the first half of Game 2 — were down eight points with 4:28 to play in Game 2. They needed to dig down deep and summon up something special, getting stops on one end at baskets at the other.
They did just that, scoring 14 points and allowing only one made field goal in those final 284 seconds.
And at the center of it all was Green.
On the defensive end, Green was everywhere. Despite having five fouls against him for the final seven-plus minutes of the game — one shy of ejection — the Michigan State product played with a contagious zeal. Down 25 pounds since mid-season, he flew around the court, contesting nearly every shot and always finding himself in the fray for rebounds. It was an abandon that would have been reckless — for anyone else, that is.
“I’m I’m going to be out there and play limit, then I may as well go sit on the bench,” Green said. “I played aggressive on the defensive side of the ball… I can’t take that away because everyone on our team is used to me playing aggressive on that side. If I stopped that, they [wouldn’t] know what to do because they are used to me playing a certain way.”
I get eye rolls every time I posit this, but I’ll say it again: Green is the Steph Curry of defense.
Because just as Curry “ruined the league” with his prodigious range, incredible ability to create and shoot off the dribble, and score at the basket, Green’s defensive versatility is the basis of a system that is now ubiquitous around the league.
Defensive tactics don’t evolve as fast as offensive tactics, but ever since the Warriors started switching everything with Green-at-center lineups in Kerr’s first year as head coach, 2014-15, we’ve seen nearly every team in the league pick up the scheme.
But few can do it like Golden State.
Green, with his unparalleled ability to guard all five positions on the court — he can lock down both a point guard on the perimeter or a center in the paint — allows the Warriors to switch everything without fear. That often results in the opposing team isolating against a perceived mismatch. In those plays, they’re lucky to get a point per possession — a number not nearly good enough to match the Warriors’ offensive output.
In fact, the biggest separator in this Warriors-Blazers series might be Portland’s inability to switch against Golden State’s high pick-and-roll. They simply don’t have the personnel for it.
That’s not surprising, though. While there are plenty of players who have been given the “Draymond Green of X” label, few — if any — come close to the original.
But Green is not just a defensive stalwart — contrary to (the ridiculous and misguided) popular belief, he’s also an elite offensive player.
Yes. I said elite.
Don’t go running to the box score — it won’t tell you everything about the game.
In Game 2, Green’s offensive imprint was just as significant as his defensive one — which is saying something.
The Dubs run all started with Green taking it coast-to-coast to cut the lead to six with 4:16 remaining. From there, he was the hub of the team’s transition and half-court offenses.
The Blazers, to their credit, abandoned their ridiculously inept Game 1 defensive gameplan — instead of leaving Curry wide open to shoot all night, they decided to trap him on the perimeter, sending double-team after double-team at the Baby Faced Assassin.
The Warriors, of course, have spent years perfecting the 4-on-3 opportunities that come from those double-teams. They ran Curry-Green pick-and-rolls four times in the final four minutes, in addition to a Green dribble-handoff and post-up opportunity.
In all, the Warriors scored five field goals in their 14-3 run over the final 4:28. Green scored or assisted on all five.
“I love to play make more than I even like shooting the ball, and I’ve been that way my whole life,” Green said. “[I’m] just thankful that they guarded us the way they did tonight.”
Is Green a beneficiary of good circumstance? Of course. He doesn’t get those playmaking abilities if the Blazers don’t double-team Curry, after all.
But then again, what great player isn’t — in some ways — a byproduct of circumstance? Last time I checked, basketball is a team sport — try as some might to buck the truth, good teammates are required to make a good player. Curry and Klay Thompson are lucky to be on this Warriors team, too, even though they are universally viewed as “the system” — the guys who turned the Warriors into an easily hatable monolith.
But lest we forget that Green is also “the system”. Defense matters — it wins championships.
“He’s a winner,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
And no, that wasn’t a flippant, cliche comment — that was the highest compliment Kerr could give.
All this to say that without Green, this great Warriors’ run doesn’t happen.
The Warriors will need to remember that when they open contract negotiations ahead of Green’s 2020 free agency.
It’s not like the Warriors going to go out and find another guy like him.
Green was overlooked as a finalist for NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award on Friday — which wasn’t a huge surprise, considering that Green saved his best play for the postseason. Still, it’s a distinction that could well hold Green back from earning a max-value contract on his next deal.
Then again, when the time comes, Green’s representation could easily make their case for a max contract by simply putting on Thursday’s film.
I think that the point would be received.
So is Green overrated?
Only if you’re not interested in winning.