Golden State Warriors: Draymond Green’s Case For Most Improved Player

Replacing David Lee

Replacing a two-time All-Star power forward like David Lee isn’t an easy thing to do. When a hamstring injury limited Lee to just seven minutes in Golden State’s first 25 games, a team without a ready replacement like Draymond Green might have fallen out of playoff contention. Instead, this Dubs team started off 22-3.

Lee at his peak is a double-double machine, but he doesn’t play defense like Green. Averaging 12.0 points and 8.2 boards per game, where Green makes his money — as we’ve already covered — is on the defensive end. The Warriors are the best defense in the league, but Green’s Swiss Army knife act has relegated a healthy Lee to bench duty.

In other words, any player who can replace a talented guy like David Lee in the starting lineup is someone who has vastly improved. After all, that same guy is suddenly replacing Klay Thompson as the Warriors player that most would rather keep than hypothetically trade for Kevin Love.

Having a natural scorer like Lee coming off the bench provides its own advantages, but even if Lee were only effective as a starter, Green has been that good to earn and keep his starting spot. How many other players have gone from bench reserve to vital glue guy/starter in less than a year? Only Rudy Gobert can say the same in that category.

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