With his 20 points in Game 5 against the Lakers, Draymond Green helped Stephen Curry to afford a Game 6 in Los Angeles, and thus extend the series. The strong winger had also exceeded 20 points (21) in Game 5 of the first round against the Kings. But before these two games, we had to go back to December 2019 to find him crossing this bar of 20 points in a meeting. It was during a Christmas game, against Houston…
In difficulty during the two games in Los Angeles, in particular during Game 3, where he was hampered by faults throughout the meeting, Draymond Green displayed a surplus of aggressiveness. Thanks to Tom Izzo, his former NCAA coach.
“He messaged me yesterday” explains Draymond Green. “He said to me, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow.’ He sent me a message this morning: ‘It’s good, I’m here’. I said to myself that I had to go there. »
Does this explain why he was the Warriors’ leading scorer in the first quarter, with 8 points including the first basket of the game at 3-pointers? Maybe in part, because Draymond Green explains that he took a breather from the legendary Michigan State coach after the third game of the series…
“If I don’t play well, I’m going to get yelled at, and I don’t want that. I heard this a few days ago: ‘It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve seen you get kicked out of a match by refereeing! It’s bullshit…’ I didn’t want to hear that kind of stuff anymore” assures the strong winger.
An aggressive attack that changes a lot of things
Tom Izzo, however, is not the only one to have suggested to Draymond Green to be more aggressive.
“I absolutely wanted to set the tone”confirms the person concerned. “Jacob Rubin (assistant to Steve Kerr) told me before the match: ‘You played well, but I haven’t felt your presence yet like I know you can. Your presence must be felt. For that, you have to be aggressive on both sides of the field. And do it verbally, so everyone can hear you. I felt like I was being disrespected.”
Stephen Curry loved it because Draymond Green’s aggressiveness on offense puts a different strain on the Lakers defense. The point guard also enjoyed several baskets ” precious “ of his teammate. The first, to set the tone of the match, but also others, notably one in the fourth quarter, at the end of possession.
“I think there’s a stat somewhere that says when [Green] scores a certain number of points, we usually win”, thinks Steve Kerrwho is right because when his strong winger exceeds 20 points, Golden State wins more than 80% of its games (43 wins – 10 losses), regular season and playoffs included. “When he’s aggressive like that, looking to attack, he adds another dimension to our team. I loved his approach to the game tonight… He was like, ‘I’m coming’.
Enough to avoid elimination at Golden State … and a new mouthful of Tom Izzo.
| Draymond Green | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2012-13 | GOS | 79 | 13 | 32.7 | 20.9 | 81.8 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 2.9 |
| 2013-14 | GOS | 82 | 22 | 40.7 | 33.3 | 66.7 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 6.2 |
| 2014-15 | GOS | 79 | 32 | 44.3 | 33.7 | 66.0 | 1.4 | 6.8 | 8.2 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 11.7 |
| 2015-16 | GOS | 81 | 35 | 49.0 | 38.8 | 69.6 | 1.7 | 7.8 | 9.5 | 7.4 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 14.0 |
| 2016-17 | GOS | 76 | 33 | 41.8 | 30.8 | 70.9 | 1.3 | 6.6 | 7.9 | 7.0 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 10.2 |
| 2017-18 | GOS | 70 | 33 | 45.4 | 30.1 | 77.5 | 1.1 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 11.0 |
| 2018-19 | GOS | 66 | 31 | 44.5 | 28.5 | 69.2 | 0.9 | 6.4 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 7.4 |
| 2019-20 | GOS | 43 | 28 | 38.9 | 27.9 | 75.9 | 0.5 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 8.0 |
| 2020-21 | GOS | 63 | 32 | 44.7 | 27.0 | 79.5 | 0.9 | 6.3 | 7.1 | 8.9 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 7.1 |
| 2021-22 | GOS | 46 | 29 | 52.5 | 29.6 | 65.9 | 1.0 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 7.5 |
| 2022-23 | GOS | 73 | 32 | 52.7 | 30.5 | 71.3 | 0.9 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 8.5 |
| Total | 758 | 29 | 44.9 | 31.4 | 71.2 | 1.1 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 8.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
