It hasn't been the cleanest season for Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green.
The decline has begun for the 36 year old future Hall of Famer as the Warriors have seen seasons up and down from .500, with injuries to Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler derailing their championship aspirations.
You can see it in his diminished impact on offense – the Warriors are 5.7 points worse per 100 possessions when Green is on the floor, which is their worst offensive point differential since his rookie season. You can see it in his defensive slips. While the Warriors still allow fewer points when Green is on the floor, 1.2 fewer points per 100 possessions, it is the second most he has allowed when he is on the floor in his career.
The player who made his money by being an on/off, plus/minus, advanced statistics god hasn't been the same this season. He looks very dangerous this season. The Warriors know it, Steve Kerr knows it and Green knows it to some extent. Green witnessed his basketball mortality during the last trade deadline, during the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, which ultimately never materialized.
And the challenge this season has been how to navigate a former DPOY and all-time great in the final stages of his career.
Kerr has tried to play Green at the four next to stretch centers Al Horford, Quinton Post and now Kristaps Porzingis so he doesn't get burned physically at the five. He's done the opposite and gone back to his old style, rocking him at the fifth spot in small ball with a group of shooters.
But of all the solutions the Warriors have tried recently, the one that has reinvigorated them has come down to the defensive end – taking on the primary task of guarding opposing stars on the perimeter.
protecting the best of the best
Over the past three games, the Warriors have changed their defensive philosophy in how they use Green defensively. Instead of using him on the backend of the defense, where he can quarterback the defense, they have committed him to guarding the opposing team's star perimeter player.
That means guarding Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, perhaps the strangest arsenal of offensive talent you can give a guard. But the results came positive. The Warriors, along with Curry and a handful of players, fought valiantly in all three games. And Green looked as lively and energetic as he has all season.
"I think our coaching staff realizes that I have a lot of energy when I'm given this type of workload," Green said. "It's amazing to have those responsibilities at this point in my career. And it energizes me a lot because, number one, my team needs me... And yet—I'm a very egotistical person. I can't just go out there and kill."
The color green shines brightest when the best players step onto the court. The same passion we are seeing now is what we saw in the Victor Wembanyama matchup earlier this season.
"I think it excites him when we give him this job, 'You guard the best player,'" Kerr said. "He loves it. He's up for the challenge. He's still one of the great defensive players in the game. The last few games, between Shai and Kevin and Kawhi, he's guarded three of the toughest guys on the planet. And done a phenomenal job."
And that passion has extended to crime. Eight assists in Rockets' win, four 3-pointers in narrow loss to OKC. Nothing outstanding, but a far cry from the liability it sometimes looked like at that level.
How Draymond Green on the perimeter transforms the Warriors' defense
Those stars are still in their bag, that's how it works in the NBA. But this strategy shocked the Clippers, Rockets and Thunder on offense while keeping the Dubs' defensive shield intact. By pressing the head of the serpent of these crimes, the warriors avoid excessive helping and selling in order to stop them. Why waste two players and compromise on help when you can use green to do the same and avoid a 4-0n-3 loss on the backend?
"Part of the reason we go [me on the top opposing scorer] Green explained, "So we don't have to help so much. And I have to take that responsibility and make sure we don't have to help."
But the other carryover effect of such a strategy is the possibility of larger lineups. Kerr closed the OKC game with a Giant Green, Horford, Porzingis, Gui Santos and Brandin Podziemski lineup. A lineup in which Green was essentially playing small forward, something he has not done since the Mark Jackson days.
This isn't a lineup Kerr hopes to use often, but the process behind that lineup may see more use. With their size in Horford and Porzingis, the Warriors can afford to put Green in star perimeter matchups. This way, they can maintain their goal of not helping excessively frequently.
“I love it,” Green said about potentially coming in with a bigger lineup. "I think when you have more size, you're able to cover more. You're able to cover mistakes. And then when you have more length you're able to close the gaps as well. So I like that."
But the question will be whether Green and the Dubs can maintain the juice they have found in him. Will there be enough motivation when it's a game against the star-less Utah Jazz or Sacramento Kings? Consistency has been a struggle for Green this season. They know they can call it quits when the lights are brightest, this three-game stretch has proven that. But can he find the motivation to do so when they are not so bright?
Regardless, the Draymond Green they're gunning for right now is exactly what the Warriors need. Kerr and Green have found the right buttons to push. And the other thing this three-game stretch proved is that Green still has a lot to offer the Warriors in the final stretch.
"Give Draymond the toughest job and put a big man behind him," Kerr said. "It's a good formula."
