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Golden State Warriors: 5 Keys To Winning Without Draymond Green

By Gerald Bourguet

Jun 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors forwards Draymond Green (23) and Andre Iguodala (9) talk to the official in the first half in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors forwards Draymond Green (23) and Andre Iguodala (9) talk to the official in the first half in game four of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Golden State Warriors
June 2, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala (9) defends against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half in game one of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

3.  Iggy’s Defense

The path has been cleared for “Andre Iguodala, Finals MVP, Part 2.” If the Warriors win Game 5 and Iggy is moved into the starting rotation, you can be guaranteed he’s one good game away from being rightly labeled as the X-factor of the championship series for the second year in a row.

In Game 5, the most logical starting lineup would seem to be inserting Iguodala in there and moving Barnes to the 4.

The truth, though, is that Iggy doesn’t even have to start to have that kind of impact. No matter which direction Kerr goes with the starting lineup, Iguodala’s defense on LeBron James may ultimately be what decides Game 5 and the Finals as a whole.

Despite the gaudy numbers he put up in last year’s Finals, LeBron was still held to 39.8 percent shooting for the series. Through the first four games of this series, King James is shooting 48.2 percent, but he’s also only scoring 24.8 points per game with a whopping 5.8 turnovers.

Andre Iguodala has been the chief architect behind LeBron’s inability to take over the last two Finals. He has the right combination of size, strength, length and defensive intelligence to make LeBron work, he’s largely kept him from attacking the basket and he’s turned James into a jump shooter.

Without Draymond on the floor, Iggy’s two-way value has never been more paramount. If he can bring one more stellar defensive effort, function as an honorary point guard, get out in transition and knock down a couple of threes, it should be enough for a Warriors team ready to feast on the energy of its home crowd.

Next: No. 2

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