Draymond Green More Than A System Player

Although Draymond Green certainly fits well in the Golden State Warriors system, he deserves more credit than a typical role player.

People like to hate Draymond Green. That’s understandable. Draymond is one of the most boisterous and combative players in the entire NBA.

This hate for Green has often led to various insults being thrown his way. One of the most common jabs that salty NBA fans tend to throw towards Green is that he’s merely a system player who is riding Stephen Curry‘s coattails.

While it’s obvious that the Warriors aren’t nearly as good without Curry, is it really true that Draymond Green is nothing without him? Could the first time All-Star really just be in the right place at the right time?

There’s no question being on the Golden State Warriors for the 2015-16 NBA season is the right place and time for any player. Green, like everybody on the Warriors, benefits greatly from being around nuclear Steph Curry.

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However, just because Curry is great doesn’t preclude others on his team from being great too. Green may not be a superstar in the conventional sense thanks to his low points per game total, but his above-average ability at every facet of NBA basketball makes him a top-10 player as well.

Here is a list of things that Draymond Green can do well: scoring, three-point shooting, passing, rebounding, defending big men, defending wings, and defending guards. He can switch onto nearly any player on defense, and play center while passing and shooting like a point guard.

That’s incredibly valuable. The Warriors aren’t nearly this good without Draymond around. He enables the high-flying offense that Golden State loves so much by being a shooter, passer, and lock-down defender all in one package.

The advanced statistics agree with that claim. Draymond Green, not Steph Curry, gives the biggest boost to the Warriors net rating while he’s on the court, and hurts the team the most when he’s on the bench.

Golden State outscores the opposition by 19.6 points per 100 possessions with Draymond on the court, and by 19.3 points per 100 possessions with Curry out there. The difference is more profound when the players are off of the court, though.

When Curry is not on the floor, the Warriors get outscored by 3.7 points per 100 possessions. Without Green out there, the opposing team outscores Golden State by 6.7 points per 100 possessions.

Per nbawowy, Draymond Green has played 324 minutes without Stephen Curry on the floor this season. In that time, he’s totaled 144 points, 105 rebounds, 79 assists, 14 steals, nine blocks, and 24 turnovers.

Since 324 divided by 36 is nine, dividing each of the bulk statistics by nine results in the per-36 numbers Draymond averages without Curry.

That means, without Stephen Curry on the floor, Draymond Green averages 16.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks per 36 minutes. All of those numbers–aside from the blocks–are actually higher than Green’s per-36 numbers for the season.

Draymond steps up his game when Curry is out. In the three games Curry missed this season, Green has gone off. He averaged nearly a triple-double in those games with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 2.7 steals, and one block per game without Curry.

The Warriors are 2-1 without their reigning MVP, in large part thanks to the play of Draymond Green. When they’re without their versatile defensive anchor, Golden State is 0-1.

The Golden State Warriors need Draymond Green, not vice versa. Draymond would be a great player on any team.

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Even though he doesn’t score like a conventional star, the value he adds through all facets of his game make him far more than just a system player.