[ESPN] Golden State's Draymond Green Problem

Draymond Green is not a true professional and I hope retires a Warrior wrecks the Warriors.

 

I hope they trade him, he may not be an elite player like the media wants everybody to believe. But he is only one on that team that ain't soft, he gives them their edge

 

See Green is getting the Harden/Dwight treatment from the media. They want everyone to hate him.

 

Yeah, what a dick!

Let's get him.

 

Dude really does it all. I hate him but he is like a talented Beverley. Gives it everything.

 

Such a likable athlete!

 

It's not a problem when you have Kevin Durant who can do what Green does offensively way more, though is t quite the interior defender.

I mean sure a non crazy Green is probably better.

But it's not like Game 5 of the Finals when they can just roll with Steph,Klay, AI, KD and whomever at center.

 

I don't think the issue is scoring without Green. There are two things that Green brings to the table that no one on that Warriors roster brings: setting great/illegal picks for open shots and defense. Before it's easy to put Bogut out at the top of the 3 point line to set picks whenever Green can't or isn't on the court but since he's gone you're looking at Green being the only one left that can set effective moving screens. Then, if Green is out, you don't have a reliable front court defender who can move all around the 3, 4, 5 spot on defense. Iggy is still a good defender but he can't defend the post like Green can.

I think the Warriors not having Bogut will provide a small window of opportunity for the rest of the league if you have scorers who can penetrate and get to the paint. If they lose Green for any reason this year they will lose that last line of defense.

 

Doesn't matter. they have too much talent to implode.

 

Ya, that's been my point about the Warriors this season - assuming they
A. Stay Healthy
B. have decent team chemistry
..then they will be a run away NBA champion.

BUT they fall into good but not great status if any one of the following happens:
A. Draymond gets hurt for any extended period of time
B. Durant gets hurt - mostly because they sacrificed depth for him and they look thin outside their starting 5
C. Steph gets hurt for any extended period of time - he stretches the defenses out so far. While Klay and Durant are great shooters, there is really no other ballhandler in the league who forces teams to guard screen action that far from the hoop.

I personally think the Warriors are due for some injuries - they have been unusually healthy the last 3 years. If that happens, I can see the Warriors losing a few and I can ESPECIALLY see Draymond chastising his team several nights for effort, etc. That may have been barely tolerable with the roster last season, but with several new teammates including a new alpha dog, it's not a given that they will just power through it this time. I doubt Green's behavior will change, so it's really a question of how poisonous it can get behind the scenes with his teammates if they hit a rough patch this season. Without the cohesion, that team is still a great team, but all of sudden they become more beatable and if any of Durant/Draymond/or Curry are out, then it's definitely a crap shoot since the tiers are pretty even in the West outside of GSW.

 

You're missing the point, though. Green (and Bogut) were really the only two guys on that roster willing to do ALL of the "dirty" work for their teammates. Green means much more to that team than just some interior defense. He's a tone-setter, a screen-setter, a rebound-getter, an absolute bulldog on both ends of the floor, and a guy that loves the scrutiny. Durant is none of those things. Sure, he's a phenomenal athlete, and one of the best offensive players on Earth, but he's not somebody that can rally the troops.

Now, I'm not saying they still won't be favored to win the championship without Green.....they absolutely will. What I'm saying is that Green is like the Dwight Schrute of the Warriors. His teammates kind of hate him because of his idiosyncracies, they begrudgingly respect him because he's very good at his job, and they will understand how much they need him only when he's gone.

 

I wish we had this "problem"

The one undersized PF Morey doesn't draft and he's a star

 

Weird hat Strauss made this article. I thought he was GSW homer that would never say anything bad about the Warriors especially fan favorite Draymond. Green is gonna read this article though and end up having an amazing season. As much as I hate Green he is still one of the most impactful players in the league.

 

Let's buy low! How about Brewer and Dekker for Green and the Warriors 1st? Who says no?

 

I have maintained for some time now that Green was the Warriors most important player because he was the heart of the team. He pushed them and drove them. I don't think the rest of the guys are that mentally tough aside from Iggy. This is less important in the regular season but more important late in the playoffs when things get tight.

 

I'm not missing the point. I get what Green brings, especially in light of what he does that Durant doesn't.

And, CLEARLY, a focused yet intense Green PLUS Durant is better than just KD.

My point remains, Curry, Klay, AI, Durant, Pachulia with a bench of Livingston, West, Vareijo, McGee, Clark, McAdoo, Looney... should still be the odds on favorite and shouldn't "sruggle" the way the Warriors did in the Finals last year without Green.

There's still nobody to stop Lebron or Irving - if those two guys decide to ball up again - and you would argue a team like the Thunder last year would be even more likely to beat them absent the fact that KD switched squads.

But KD is such a step up from Harrison Barnes its ridiculous. And yes, we're talking about a non-Green scenario as well, noted. And yes, KD can shrink in the clutch in the playoffs, and isn't nearly the versatile defender Green is... but there is basically no team like the Thunder last year, which for a second there had figured out the Warriors more than anyone (even the Cavs), with their athletic, mobile, capable bigs, an engaged KD offensively and defensively and the PG pressure for Step. They don't have KD anymore. The Clippers would be close if they had one other backcourt firepower guy. Which JJ Reddick, great super role player, is not.

Plus if KD can get motivated more in the Warriors system, the dude, not quite Green like, but is a capable rebounder and can defender the 3/4 and switch onto guards fine as well.

As with the last year, the Warriors will either beat themselves, or win the ring.

 

Draymond is a donkey

 

Amazing passer...