How Good Can Draymond Green Really Be For the Golden State Warriors?
Coming out of college, Draymond Green wasn’t viewed as a guy who could really be a game-changer in the NBA, and for good reason. For all of the things he did at Michigan State, he was a very versatile player, but no one quite knew what his real position on the court would be.
Sure, he could hit threes and play on the perimeter and then go down on the other end and play some defense in the post and clear the glass, but would he be the kind of player that could always bang down low with big men and continue to play quality defense, or could he get into even better shape and become a consistent perimeter player?
As analysts like to call players like Green “tweeners”, Green was one of these coming out of college, someone without a real spot on the floor that he could call home. Players who don’t know what their roles are and can’t play to a strength night in and night out usually haven’t had much success on the pro level.
However, Green has been able to get away with the label and has been a real find for the Golden State Warriors.
The biggest reason why Green has been able to be productive on the court is because of the versatility of the rest of the wing and forwards on the roster.
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Players like Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Shaun Livingston are all long players that are capable of switching onto all different kinds of positions on the floor and guard may different sizes of players on defense. Green can switch his man off with someone else’s at will depending on if he gets a good or bad match-up for him, making his life a lot easier on that end of the floor.
It also helps a great deal that Andrew Bogut has been down low anchoring the defense just in case Green needs someone to slide over and help depending on how big the player is that he’s guarding.
Offensively, Green can create mismatches no matter which position he plays, the small or power forward. If he is on the perimeter, not only can Green hit deep two-pointers and three-pointers, but he can also play with his back to the basket in the post and really use a few moves to score down low or pass out of the double team and set one of his teammates up for an easy perimeter jump shot. Green’s court vision is good enough that he can really become a facilitator in the post and wreak havoc on an opposing defense.
When he lines up at the four, Green can stretch the defense out to the perimeter and bring one big man out of the lane, giving his team a great shot at getting an offensive rebound for a crucial second chance bucket. The options are endless for Green on offense, and as long as he continues to hit shots at a high level, he is going to be the focus of a defense on a nightly basis, even with Thompson and Stephen Curry in the lineup.
Defense will continue to be the biggest question mark for a player like Green, but if he can be a solid one-on-one defender like he has been, then there is no telling how high Green’s ceiling is in terms of production for the Warriors.
Green doesn’t have a lot of long-term potential because he is pretty much evolved as a talent, you know what you can get out of him and what you are likely to get out of him. If he can maximize those talents down the stretch, then he could be a really dangerous player for Golden State heading into the playoffs. With him as an established rotation player and starter, the Warriors have gotten themselves the best record in the entire NBA, and it is in no small part to Green’s contributions.
As Green continues to get more comfortable playing in multiple spots on the floor, he will shine and keep producing for a team looking to be as versatile as possible. Coach Steve Kerr has not been afraid to try new things with this team, and Green’s output in multiple areas is one reason why he has had the luxury of doing that this season.
Green really has the chance to be a special player for Golden State. Time will only tell just how important he will be going forward.