As much as the New Orleans Pelicans have struggled with Draymond Green through the first two games of their series against the Golden State Warriors it is about to get much worse.
Thursday was the day when the NBA Defensive Player of the Year was announced with many considering the combative Green to be odds on for the award. Instead the trophy went to Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs, who became the first non-big man to win the award since Ron Artest in 2004.
The fact that this was the closest DPoY race since 1998 when Dikembe Mutumbo gained just two more first place votes than Gray Payton will not matter to Green. Though Leonard had a stellar run at the end of the season, it is hard to see how his overall body of work can compare to the Warriors forward when all 82 games are taken into account.
The bottom line is that this stings Green and now the Pelicans will get to feel his wrath,
It is not like Green needs any more reasons to increase his burgeoning defensive reputation. Originally entering the league as a second round pick in 2012 he was a long shot to even make the Warriors roster, let alone make himself indispensable to the team. That is exactly what he has become though as evidenced by comments to NBA.com made by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr back in February.
“He’s the key figure, because as the power forward, he’s frequently involved in screen-and-rolls. And because he’s quick enough and active enough to switch out onto a point guard, we’re able to stifle a lot of the first options out of the opponent’s attacks. And when that happens and the shot clock starts to wind down, we’re able to stay in front of people and force a tough shot.”
The versatility with which Green can be used on defense is a key point both in this series against the Pelicans and beyond. His ability to guard all five positions, and to truly guard all five at a high level, allows the Warriors huge amounts of flexibility with their line up. With Andrew Bogut locking down the rim, Green can be matched up on the Pelicans best offensive threat and slow down New Orleans scoring to the point that they cannot keep up with Golden State.
Green has been seeing plenty of Anthony Davis this series and his ability to make Davis work hard for every shot has proven to be the difference late in games. Green has the kind of motor coaches dream about. He led the Warriors bigs in minutes per game (31.5) during the regular season and has crushed that figure in the two wins over the Pelicans, playing an astonishing 42.5 minutes per game. This was crucial in game two as Davis played 45 minutes himself trying to carry New Orleans to victory, but he was noticeably fatigued as the game reached its deciding phase.
The closing minutes in game two is where Green made his biggest impact on this series to date. Re-entering the game with 5:17 to play after a brief break, the Warriors were clinging on to an 88-84 lead. From this point forward the Pelicans were only able to muster another three points as Green picked up the defensive tempo on his own, while the Warriors forced awkward shots and bad offensive possessions from New Orleans time after time. The 97-87 win looks much more convincing thanks to the efforts of Green and Bogut over those last few minutes.
Measuring Green’s important to Golden State is shown best using his performance against Davis through two games. According to research done by Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group the production of Davis varies wildly when Green is on him compared to any other Golden State player as the primary defender:
- Davis vs. Green: 18 points, 6-of-18 shooting, four turnovers
- Davis vs. all other Warrior defenders: 43 points, 16-of-27 shooting, three turnovers
Furthering the theory that through two games Green has been the Warriors most important player is his plus/minus stat. Green leads the team with a mark of plus-47, more than double that of Steph Curry who sits at plus-23. Green’s combination of film study, body position and unteachable competitiveness make him one of the very few defenders in the game who can make Davis uncomfortable in his shooting.
No longer a role player, Green might be the most important player on this entire roster as the Warriors look to turn their #1 seed into an NBA Title.