San Antonio Spurs: Danny Green Must Expand His Game

Danny Green made highlights in the NBA Finals for his onslaught beyond the arc, totaling the most 3-pointers ever made in a Finals series.

But once the Miami Heat realized how to defend against his 3-point shooting, it was one of the falls that led to the San Antonio Spurs blowing their fifth title. If Danny Green isn’t shooting 3s, he’s doing little else on offense to help the Spurs.

Green’s struggles in his game come when he’s near the basket and also in his ballhandling abilities. During the playoffs, Green averaged 46.81 percent shooting in the restricted area, which is below the league average.

According to a recent report, Green has been occupying himself this summer by working on his weaknesses, which he includes as ballhandling and his defense as well. His defense was another highlight throughout the Finals, but better defense is always a plus.

Danny Green had this to say in a Google Hangout hosted by Shot Science Basketball:

“When you have a weakness you want to work on it every day so you get stronger. So ball handling and dribble drills are something I’m working on every day. Shooting, it comes every day because you could always get better at it. I’m trying to get stronger faster, more agility, more athletic and I think that’ll help my game.”

If Danny Green can improve his playmaking skills, expect the Spurs to be in the Finals conversation once again. (Photo: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule).

Notably, Spurs fan remember his blown layups and his ill-advised decisions when it came to being the ballhandler on offense. Only 30 times over the whole season was Green the ballhandler in pick-and-roll plays and only 21 times did he attempt an isolation play.

In comparison for his ballhandling skills, Manu Ginobili is still remembered for having an abysmal Finals series that’s shadowed by crucial turnovers. Meanwhile, his assist-to-turnover ratio still beat out Green’s, 2.04 to 1.54 over the entire 2012-13 season.

Of all shots taken last season, 42.7 percent of Green’s were in spot-up plays, usually waiting outside the 3-point line for another playmaker on the team to pass out to him for the shot. While emerging as one of the top outside shooters in the league, opposing teams understand that he’s not nearly as deadly inside the arc and can force him to put the ball on the floor.

Green’s role on the Spurs is bound to be more crucial than ever before, considering Ginobili will most likely undergo rest more than ever this season. New acquisition Marco Belinelli is taking the role of Neal as a sharpshooter, so Green must step up his inside game and ability to handle the ball in order to keep the Spurs in championship contention.

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