Draymond Green's Fire Drives Warriors In Pursuit Of Title
JOSH DUBOW, AP Sports Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry might be the face of the Warriors with the breathtaking long-range shots and ball-handling that makes Golden State so appealing to watch.
Draymond Green is the heart.
The loud, sometimes brash and amazingly versatile Green was the driving force behind the team's commitment to chase a record 73 wins in the regular season, the key to the team's dominant small-ball lineup and perhaps Golden State's most indispensable player.
A knee injury to Curry has done little to slow down the Warriors' run to a second straight title because fellow "Splash Brother" Klay Thompson has picked up the scoring load to help Golden State take a 2-0 series lead in the second round against Portland.
Making up for what Green does on the court would be almost impossible. In the past four games, Green is averaging 18.3 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and the Warriors have outscored the opponent by 109 points when he is on the court.
"Draymond is huge for us," center Andrew Bogut said. "His playmaking ability, his defensive ability, he's probably the best all-around player in the league at this point."
It's been quite a ride for a player so lightly regarded that he wasn't drafted until 35th overall when he came out of Michigan State in 2012. But Green has improved each year, increasing his average in points, rebounds, assists, field-goal percentage and 3-point shooting in each of his four years capped by his stellar performance this year.
Green averaged 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game, becoming the first player to record at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocks in a single season since steals and blocks started being officially recorded in 1973-74.
He set a team record with 13 triple-doubles, was the only player to appear in all 73 wins for the Warriors and had the highest plus-minus margin ever on record with Golden State outscoring the opposition by 1,072 points when he was on the floor.
While Green has played the majority of his time with the presumptive MVP in Curry, it is telling that Golden State has outscored opponents by 13.8 points per 48 minutes with Green on the court and Curry off compared to 1.0 point per 48 minutes with Curry playing and Green resting.
But more than numbers, it's Green's defensive versatility that makes the Warriors what they are. He's able to guard all five positions whether it's battling with post players who have a decided size advantage or chasing quicker guards on the perimeter and that allows Golden State to employ its so-called "Death Lineup" of five perimeter players that opponents have been unable to neutralize.
"I think there's a lot of great all-around players in the game," Green said. "You'll never hear me call myself that, but they are going to call me that, I'll take it. I'm not going to shy away from it."
Green is fueled by doubters and skeptics, using the snub of being a second-round pick or critics who called the Warriors lucky for avoiding some top teams or players on the way to the championship last year as fuel for his raging fire.
That fire sometimes gets too hot and led to the 12 technical fouls Green got during the regular season and the locker room shouting match he had with coach Steve Kerr at halftime of a game in Oklahoma City in February.
"We yell at each other all the time," Kerr said. "He's a guy that I know I can get on who won't shy away but will actually do the opposite. If I yell at him he's going to play better. Sometimes I yell at Draymond just to get the team to play better. Draymond understands that. When you have a relationship like that, every once in a while it's going to blow over, which it did in Oklahoma City as everybody knows about but that didn't mean anything."
Kerr calls Green one of his favorite players he's ever been around and credits his vocal desire to pursue 73 wins for the decision to go for the record.
Kerr is not the first coach to have run-ins with Green that did little to diminish his appreciation for his style of play. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said he had plenty of yelling matches with Green in college but has only praise for Green.
"He had basketball IQ, it's off the charts," Izzo said. "It's as good as anybody. He can see the floor and do some things like no player I've had. He has incredible toughness. He'd fight Godzilla. It doesn't matter who it is, where it is or what it is. He has an incredible will to win. Everybody wants to win but he would sacrifice to win."
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AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.
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