One of the Warriors early season revelations has been the improvement of Draymond Green’s offensive game. Prior to the season, I postulated this was a make or break year for Green. In that I meant, Green’s defense was a known quantity but for him to ever become a starting caliber player he’d need to become a more consistent threat on offense. To his credit, he has done that. He built upon his gradual improvement over the course of last season, and is posting career high’s across the board statistically so far. Through 10 games, Green is averaging 12.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 blocks. More importantly it’s his shooting percentages that have made the largest improvement. Green is shooting 41.9% on threes, 51.9% on 2’s (47.4% overall). His emergence as a credible shooting threat has left defenses to “pick their poison.”
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As David Lee approaches his return to the court, Coach Steve Kerr will soon be faced with a difficult decision, bring Lee off the bench or continue with Draymond Green. Kerr has been non-committal but recently stated he could adjust the starting lineup.
Should the Warriors continue starting Draymond Green when David Lee comes back? Absolutely.
The reasons to continue starting Green are multidimensional. The first point, which jumps out, is the added spacing. Green is not generating the spacing elite ‘Stretch 4s’ like Ryan Anderson or Channing Frye provide yet. He doesn’t have the ‘gravity’ or respect factor known PF marksmen do. The season is early, and while it’s unlikely Green will shoot 42% from 3-point range for the entirety of it, with each passing game, teams are finding it harder to leave him open. The Clippers found this out the hard way with Green igniting a first half run, which proved insurmountable. The more he shows he can knock down 3s the less inclined opponents are to leave him open, clearing the lane. As it stands now, even with less gravitational pull than other known Stretch 4s, he’s still helping space the floor more than David Lee would. Lee is a great at what he does offensively, but that doesn’t stem beyond 15 feet.
And those extra few feet of space, Green’s shooting ability is providing is allowing Curry and Klay to accelerate as all-around offensive weapons. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson’s have been noticeably more willing to attack the rim.
Curry’s dynamic play with the stretch 4 has been well chronicled, however this season it’s the stretch 4’s impact on Thompson which jumps out. Thompson has been driving the ball 3.5 times as often as he did last season.Last season, in lineups with Lee at PF, Thompson took 12.3% of his shots inside 3 ft (Curry took 16.4%.) This season with Green starting, Thompson is getting to the rim on 20.4% of his shot attempts (Curry 20.3%.) The added spacing has helped both players become much more consistent all-around offensive weapons. One only needs to look at the Sacramento or Houston games as examples of this. In the past if Thompson’s shot was not falling he was largely a non-contributor on offense. This year in games where Thompson’s 3-point shot is off, he’s been able to get to the rim more often, and generate more free throws by doing so. The added spacing has made it easier for Thompson to do such things. Starting Green allows both Thompson and Curry to play to their maximum ability on the offensive end.
Of course Green should start at power forward, even when Lee decides to come back. Although he is a small stretch 4, he makes up for lack of height and bulk with heart and hustle. If he has to go up against a huge 4 than Kerr can go to Speights, Lee, or Ezeli..Lee can come off the bench with offense, maybe a little rebounding, and absolutely no defense, so his game is declining along with his health.