In the three seasons since Draymond Green was last All-Star, Golden State has experienced both victory and loss in the final, one of the worst records in team history and rebuilding one of the most dominant plays of all time. While the Warriors follow a return to the playoffs, Green remains their ultimate catalyst.
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Green is arguably his toughest start to a season since starting full-time in 2014-15. But his team did not suffer from his struggle: After finishing the NBA’s worst record in 2019-20, the Warriors put one game over 0.500 to 21 games this season. Although they missed Klay Thompson for a second consecutive year, Stephen Curry’s return from a broken hand and his partnership with Green strengthened the fate of the franchise. Despite the drop in the average score and the efficiency of shots, Green has continued to ease the workload of his teammates, thus filling important gaps as Golden State balances the struggle with player development.
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Green’s career joins the return to the greatness of Golden State. When the second pick in the second round of 2012 came into its own, the team hit the stratosphere and broke a 40-year title drought. Over the five-year finals of the team, Green has established itself among the most versatile and influential players of an entire generation, with a total of 80.3 RAPTOR winning above the substitute – more than both players except two: Curry and James Harden .
Green lets his team go
Highest team winning percentage in triples with a triple double for NBA players with at least ten such matches
| Games with a triple double | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Number | Win% |
| Tom Gola | 23 | .913 |
| Dikembe Mutombo | 10 | .900 |
| Paul Pierce | 10 | .900 |
| John Havlicek | 36 | .889 |
| Draymond Green | 34 | .882 |
| Jerry West | 17 | .882 |
| Kyle Lowry | 16 | .875 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 87 | .874 |
| David Robinson | 15 | .867 |
| Scottie Pippen | 21 | .857 |
One easy way to see Green’s impact on his team is by looking at what happens when he leaves. Including the playoffs, Green has won 34 triple-doubles over his nine-year career. In those games, the Warriors maintain a winning percentage of .882, which according to the Elias Sports Bureau is the fifth best for any player in NBA history.
However, Green has not recorded a triple-double in over a year, and he has only had one double this season. This trend is undoubtedly related to the injuries that have plagued him over the past two seasons.
Green missed 22 of the Warriors’ 65 games last year, and then missed most of training camp before the start of this season after testing positive for COVID-19. When he was able to rejoin the team, he injured his foot and missed the first four games of the season. The two-time All-NBA pick, which is the pass of the lowest usage rate in his career (12.6 percent), admits he has yet to equal his peak this season.
“I think I’m gone two to three weeks,” Green said after a victory Saturday in Detroit. “Just keep getting in shape. My speed is to get there. I dipped the ball today. It was big time. I was really excited about it. ”
In most cases, it’s hard to see the offensive impact of anyone averaging 4.8 points per game at the rate of Green’s lowest score since 2012-’13. For Green, however, his demise, performance and acumen are critical to opening the door for Curry to carry the point.
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According to NBA Advanced Stats, Curry’s efficiency fluctuates depending on Green’s presence. Without Green on the field, Curry is shooting well below 40 percent on tries in 2020-’21, something he has never done in an entire season. Green even aided Curry’s last 3 points as he scored a career-high 62 points on January 3rd.
Steph is better with Draymond
Stephen Curry’s stats with and without Draymond Green on the floor for the Golden State Warriors, 2020-21 season
| Per 36 minutes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FG% | 3-pt% | Use | Marks | Plus-minus | |
| Green on the track | 49.8% | 47.1% | 28.2% | 29.6 | +3.1 |
| Green from court | 42.4 | 33.0 | 33.5 | 31.0 | -4.7 |
“It made so much sense that Draymond knew exactly what the situation was, and knew where I was,” Curry said after his big game against Portland. ‘I thought he would not seek me, but I would never doubt it; he knew exactly where I was. ‘
As the Warriors continue to integrate new players, Green has made the Curry campaign possible over the course of the course to create more effective points for their teammates, namely Andrew Wiggins, the seventh year. Although the former overall no. 1 overall 17.7 points per game, well below his career average of 19.6 points per game, Wiggins’ 3-point percentage so far (38.5 percent) easily surpasses that of his first six NBA seasons.
Instead of forcing his own offense, Green has taken his thumbs up to new levels. According to Second Spectrum, the veteran is averaging 15.5 potential assists per 36 minutes this season, the most among all forwards. To begin with, it is on track for the highest rate in his career. Such facilitating ways are not new to Green. Over his seven plus seasons he has started, he ranks eighth among all players who can offer potential help, while leading the league in total pace.
Green also took promising rookie James Wiseman under his wing and guided the young center. This helps another important gap between the present and future of the Warriors.
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While Green acknowledges the extra equipment he can provide, head coach Steve Kerr believes the three-time champion is exactly where he needs to be as the Warriors find their feet with a new look.
“I do not think I need more of Draymond,” Kerr said recently. “I think his involvement was great. He really does a great job leading the team. He is very outspoken in film sessions. He plays a big role in a group of guys to become a team. When he was on the floor, he was active. He helps our defense a ton. ‘
A former defensive player of the year, and Green’s impact on Golden State remains unmistakable. With Green on the field this season, the Warriors keep opponents just 41.8 percent off the field. When he sits? The figure jumps to 46.3 percent.
Despite his shootouts, Green’s presence swayed the Warriors’ net rating by 8.0 points per 100 possessions, more than double that of Curry (3.7), who is currently fifth in the league. Without Thompson to round out the winning trio in NBA history, Golden State probably would not be considered a contender for the title this season, but no team would want Green, Curry and his company in the playoffs.
Green to rediscover his shooting touch will only strengthen the team’s happiness this season, but he still remains invaluable with his penchant for feeding and suffocating the hot hand.
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