Which two warriors players would you take (if you could only take 2)?

I can't say most important because everything starts with Curry and things open up the way they do because of him and what he does. And its not just about shooting. The GSW are built around Curry and everyone else complements him in their own way. Either way the two most important guys on their team are Green and Curry which I have always believed from the beginning once Green established himself in the league and GS began their run for their title.

 

Curry missed quite a few games this season. In most of those games GS were fine. Green missed two games and GS looked terrible without him.

I'm not saying Green is better but he is the most important player on GS. Curry can be replaced to some degree by Thompson, Green can't be replaced there.

 

The fact that you build around someone specifically alone tells me their importance and operates a system that way because of them only adds to that. You seem to only be looking at the shooting that can be replaced and not the things that don't show up in the box score such as the defense playing a completely different way, Curry's ability to get to the rim and make plays for others, spacing the floor wide open just because of his presence, and amongst other things

But agree to disagree here.

 

Curry is the most important player on GS. Thompson is the 2nd most important, and Green is the 3rd.

Your argument that Curry/Thompson can compensate for each other has holes. For instance, if one of them were injured, opposing defenses would focus on the other b/c no one else on GS can provide that kind of shooting.

However, if Green were injured, the Warriors could replace him with Iggy. Iggy isn't as effective as Green, but he has a similar skill set.

Look at it this way. Which is a better team:

Curry/Thompson/Barnes/Iggy/Bogut

or

Livingston/Thompson/Barnes/Green/Bogut?

 

The huge problem that will always arise in which Iggy cannot come close to replacing is versatility defensively/leadership and it showed last night. Green is the only big in the league that can guard 1-5 on any type of play. He can guard 1 on 1, switch on 1-2,1-3,1-4,1-5 pick and rolls, great communicator on off ball movement, switches, screens. Just a overall an elite defensve quarterback. It should be crystal clear the importance of DG. Klay is icing on the cake. But we've been down this road before and there isnt much backing down from either of us so well leave it at that.

 

That gets exaggerated. With shoes, he's not even 6'8. He can play spot minutes at the 5, but that's largely contingent on the rest of the Warriors hitting their 3's and the caliber of opposing center.

Against OKC's big frontcourt, we all saw how relatively ineffective he was. He averaged 11 pts (on 35% fg shooting/21% 3pt shooting), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 3 turnovers per game.

 

So you think green is a superstar?? Umm NO

 

Klay and steph duhh

 

who cares if hes 6'8. He has a 7'1 wingspan which is more than capable of being able to hold his own against any big in the NBA which he does. CP is barely 6'0 if even that, yet he's one of the league's best defensive pg's in the game and has been for years

its not exaggerated. Whats exaggerated is the 2 games they got blown out of where everyone was awful and thought that told the entire story. But really its just you finding a way to support what you think is true. You're nowhere to be found when he's having monster games even without Klay or Steph playing. Whatever your problem with not being able to see how elite DG is defensively on you.

 

I guess you missed the OKC series. Green's stature is a weakness, but there aren't very many teams that can exploit that weakness.

A pg's defensive ability depends more on speed/quickness than height/wingspan. So comparing a PG with a PF serves no purpose.

Interesting. So in your opinion, against the OKC frontcourt, Green was a defensive stud?

 

in the moments they needed him most, he definitely came through and held his own. There wasn't any dominate performance throughout the course of the entire series by their bigs. And he definitely made it more difficult than the all mighty spurs or dallas did. Aside from those two blowout games where he was horrible, he got back to being who he truly is as a player and was a pivotal their come back. Did OKC have a size adv over GS? Sure they did. that's obvious. But did they dominate and impose their will on the games. Nope.

 

In the OKC series, that can be said for Curry or Thompson, but not Green.

And of course the OKC bigs didn't dominate, but consider this. Draymond Green averaged 11 pts and 9 rebounds in 38 minutes. In 29 minutes, Steven Adams averaged 10 points and 9 rebounds. In 36 minutes, Ibaka averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds. If Green were as elite as you thought he was, shouldn't he have vastly outplayed Adams/Ibaka?

At one point, OKC led the series 3-1 with consecutive wins of 24+ pts. You don't consider that "dominating and imposing their will on the games"?

 

In the OKC series, that can be said for Curry or Thompson, but not Green.

And of course the OKC bigs didn't dominate, but consider this. Draymond Green averaged 11 pts and 9 rebounds in 38 minutes. In 29 minutes, Steven Adams averaged 10 points and 9 rebounds. In 36 minutes, Ibaka averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds. If Green were as elite as you thought he was, shouldn't he have vastly outplayed Adams/Ibaka?

It's no secret DG impacts the game in other aspects that don't show up in the box score, which also adds to him being irreplaceable even by committe. He does a little bit of everything on one end and is elite on the other. Adams/ibaka's impact on winning was nowhere near the level of DG

At one point, OKC led the series 3-1 with consecutive wins of 24+ pts. You don't consider that "dominating and imposing their will on the games"?

As far as the bigs nope. There were two other guys just putting the team on their backs during that stretch. The rest were piggybacking and doing their best to complement in their respective roles. In the two blowouts those guys happened to be contributors. But overall I would never say dominant and imposing their will as okc has been sitting at home watching instead of playing

 

The problem is HYPE and I feel I succumb to it.

Klay and Curry put up historical numbers which should make me pick those two, but the impact of Green seems undeniable. Right now my heart says the team is founded on Green and one of the others could be replaced.

And that's BS looking at both numbers as general performance. There's nobody in the league who can put up that accuracy, so there's no credible replacement (Harden???).

But right now my heart says that it's Green who is the cornerstone. There you have it, I fell for the hype

 

Steph Curry > Draymond Green > Klay Thompson > Iggy > Bogut > Barnes > Livingston > ...

 

I get when people think that DG is the most important piece to the well oiled machine that is the Warriors.

He is crucial to their success. Sample size is obviously limited, as that team has been pretty healthy for a while now, but in games that DG misses, GS tends to struggle somewhat. He just does a lot of things that don't show up in the box score, he does all the dirty things for them and hustles non-stop.

Clearly, Curry is the best player on that team, there is no denying that and if you were to start a franchise, you'd clearly build around Curry and not DG or Thompson.

I feel like DG is to the Warriors, what Odom was to the Lakers, a big that can play both ends, that can bring up the ball, does the dirty work, good passer for his size and can stretch the floor. Nobody in their right mind would have picked Odom over KB or would have called Odom the best player on that team, because he wasn't. Without Odom however, the Lakers wouldn't have been nearly as good as they were. Odom was crucial to them winning a championship.

As for the question who I'd pick, if I had to pick two players out of Curry, Thompson and DG, it would have to be Curry and DG.

Thompson, while a great shooter doesn't and can't create for himself consistently. He can't create for others. He is an average defender (maybe at times slightly above average), but definitely not a great defender.

DG does way more for GS, things that don't show up on the stat sheet. Also he can defend guards and bigs and can't be ignored on offense)

Curry obviously is the most talented among that bunch and while not a good defender, is able to create for himself and others and by his mere presence on the court makes opposing defenses work.

So yeah, I'd go with Curry and Green. Put another sharp shooter like JJ Redick or Korver (not in a down year obviously) in that lineup and you'd be ok. You might be slightly worse but not by much I think.

 

Steph= burger
Klay= fries
Draymond= shake
Iggy= pop
Everyone else= condiments

Burger and fries is great. Burger and shake is good. Fries and shake is good as well. Having all 3 at the same time is very fulfilling. When the sauces are good as well you have a winner every time. People order different things based upon their preference but don't get it twisted.. Steph and Klay are the main stables. Draymond is that extra treat that complements either a burger and shake.

Is Draymond a #1 choice? No. What good is a shake with a bunch of condiments?

 

Thompson can absolutely create for himself. He just has the luxury of not having to do so on a regular basis but he definitely can and does when needed. You can't argue against that. It's evidenced by the fact that he's a prolific scorer. Not just a shooter. He's a very good defender as well on a regular basis not just average or above average.

JJ or Korver as good as shooters they are don't come close to Klay. They can't score like him which supports my point that Klay can create for himself and make plays aside from just being a shooter. JJ and Korver are worthless on defense. You replace Klay with JJ or Korver you're not "ok" or "slightly worse but not by much". You're fighting for home court in Rd 1 with 4-5 other teams.

 

Truth is you have 2/3 of any of those players and your team wins 50-60 games. Hve all 3 and you get 73.