Under the banner of a recent championship and behind the shadows of MVP Stephen Curry stands Draymond Green, the All-Star forward whose talents are sometimes overlooked and often under appreciated. The undersized big man doesn’t have the flashiest game or the highest scoring average, and the words most often associated with his play are of the immeasurable variety: “gritty,” “aggressive,” “heart.” While not wrong, ascribing unquantifiable labels to a player in an ever-increasing stat savvy league can be reductive. So perhaps the most apt number to associate with Green is 135-22. That’s Golden State’s record since he was inserted into the starting lineup a season ago. 
 

Simply put, Green helps the Warriors win, a lot. That was never more evident than on Wednesday night in Utah. With the team mired in a poor shooting performance on the second half of a back-to-back, Draymond stepped up his play on defense, prowling the paint in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter and all of overtime. With him anchoring the defense, the Warriors were able to score just enough on the other end to rally for their 68th victory of the season. The Dubs are now only five victories away from sole possession of the best regular season record in NBA history. 73 wins. That is a number befitting of Green and his “gritty” play. 

 
Here are 10 thoughts on the game:

 

1) Draymond made all the plays when the Warriors needed them. His block on Shelvin Mack’s game-winning try forced overtime. Once there, he hit a layup to give the Dubs a lead for the first time since early in the third quarter. Two possessions later he rejected another feeble Mack attempt. And one possession after that he thwarted both Trey Lyles and Joe Ingles in the lane before boxing out all the Jazz to secure a clutch rebound. Then, for good measure, he dropped a ferocious dunk to finally seal the victory. Dray finished with 13 points, eight boards, six assists, three blocks and one macho-pose and-1 layup. Sing the song of Draymond, everyone!

Klay Thomspon Overtime2) Of course, Dray did have some help. Klay Thompson (18 points) hit a game-tying three and Stephen Curry, despite five turnovers, connected on a flurry of desperately needed baskets when the team was down and the offense was stalling. Curry finished with 31 points and shot 5-of-10 from distance…

3) …but Rudy Gobert gave the MVP fits in the paint. Curry is a 68.6% finisher on layups, one of the best (per NBA.com). However, with the Stifle Tower patrolling the lane, he had numerous attempts altered, looking completely befuddled on a few of them. If these two teams are to meet in Round 1 of the playoffs, Steph might look to take more pull-ups and floaters. (Or maybe he can just shoot more ridiculous threes.)

4) The Warriors needed this game, not the win, but the game itself. After an extended stretch of sluggish play, this come-from-behind OT victory — on a night when the team was clearly dragging and the shots weren’t falling — is exactly what the Dubs could use to keep chugging along on this interminable march towards the record. Like a jolt of caffeine during a long work day.

5) Yo, HB, man. Let’s have a chat. You’re a good player, but it’s okay to pass up open threes sometimes. Dray does it every game. Let’s hunt for something better. You can do it!

6) Have you seen that Spurs tribute video on Youtube? The one that highlights their “beautiful game?” I got goosebumps the first time I saw it. The Warriors aren’t far from hitting that level. On the very first possession of the game, the ball ping-ponged around the court seven times with each Warrior touching the rock before a lob to Andrew Bogut for a dunk. I can’t wait for the Warriors tribute videos to start popping up online in 2017.

Draymond Green7) That was a lot of Shelvin Mack in the game (12 points, 5-17 FG). Is Trey Burke alive? Wasn’t he their lottery pick two summers ago?

8) The Death Lineup featuring Ian Clark got another spin tonight. Gotta give it up to Steve Kerr for having the guts to try that one in a tight game. (Clark rewarded him with a timely corner three.)

9) Kerr had a textbook hack-a sequence at 2:36 in the fourth. Gobert, a 57.6% shooter, missed both free throws and the Warriors tied the score on the very next possession. That’s how you keep hack-a exciting!

10) It’s not yet April Fool’s Day, and the Dubs have already bested their all-time regular season record. 68-7 might look like a prank in the standings, but the other NBA teams certainly aren’t laughing.

One Response