David Lee
To be fair, David Lee didn’t voluntarily give up his starting spot to Draymond Green. He started the year with a strained hamstring and missed the first three games. In the fourth game he tried to play and made it seven minutes before re-injurying his hamstring.
He then had to sit out the next 21 games as Green evolved into a Most Improved Player candidate. Since then, he has returned to the court and embraced his role coming off the bench.
When asked if coming off the bench was understandable given the team’s start, Lee responded as well as any former All-Star could. From Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group,
“Absolutely,” Lee said Monday. “Whether I start tomorrow, or I get a DNP or anything in between, I trust Coach (Steve Kerr) that he’s doing this to help our team win games, and that’s his only agenda.
“If this is a temporary thing, a permanent thing, that doesn’t matter to me at all. I’m so excited that I’m on this winning team.”
Lee is not a washed up All-Star finally acquiescing to his reduced role. He is in his prime coming off last season’s averages of 33.2 minutes per game, 18.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 78 percent from the line. Until this season, Lee had started 276 of the 278 games he played for the Warriors, per Basketball-Reference.com.
There are two main factors contributing to Lee’s willingness to come off the bench for a winning team, besides his solid character.
1. He has only participated in the playoffs twice. During the 2013 season, making his first appearance in a playoff game, Lee tore his right hip flexor. It was thought to be a season-ending injury. Lee tried to tough it out, but was clearly hurt, averaging five points on 39.4 percent shooting in 10.8 minutes per game.
He played much better in the playoffs the following year, averaging 16.1 points and 10.6 rebounds on 53.2 percent shooting, but the Warriors fell to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 of the first round.
This is Lee’s 10th year in the league. He has had individual success, but he is hungry for team success on the big stage.
2. When David Lee was on the New York Knicks for the 2006-07 season, he averaged a double-double coming off the bench for all but 12 games.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/2/2015.
He has shown the ability to be efficient and impactful as a bench player in the past. He shot 60 percent from the floor and grabbed 10.4 rebounds in just 29.8 minutes per game. Being a rotational player is not a totally new role for him.
So far this year Lee has averaged 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 20.2 minutes per game. He’s shooting 50 percent from the field and 72 percent from the line. Even after accepting a bench role, Lee continues to play a team oriented game while on the court. He is averaging the same number of assists this year as he was last year, but in 13 minutes less per game.
It would be easy to come in off the bench looking for his own shot, considering how much he has already sacrificed, but that is not the case. Per 36 minutes he is averaging a career-high of 3.8 assists per game, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Never known for his defense, Lee is also averaging career highs in steals per 36 minutes with 1.4 and blocks per 36 minutes with 1.3, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Not stellar numbers by any means, but the fact that they are career highs speaks to his added effort and commitment to the defensive end of the floor this season.
Next: Andre Iguodala