New Orleans Pelicans: 3 takeaways from Game 1 vs. Warriors

3. Draymond is their catalyst

Psst, Alvin Gentry. Here is a secret you may not have heard: Rhat guy Draymond Green? You might want to limit him from early on. It may say “power forward” next to his name on the stat sheet, but he is the catalyst to the Warriors thriving.

Draymond did almost anything he wanted on Saturday. If you look at his four triple-doubles this season, you will see that he clearly can turn this thing on and off like it was a lawnmower.

Of those four games, three of them came against contenders in the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets.

With the exception of a random triple-double losing effort against the Sacramento Kings, Draymond’s triple-doubles generally (and historically) have led to wins, including the one he dropped on the Pelicans in the regular season of the 2016-17 campaign. So less Draymond leads to less losing.