Green turns blocks into fast breaks
Defensive star flummoxed Blazers by muscling in, then keeping ball in play
OAKLAND — Andre Iguodala, officially credited with zero blocks in the Blazers series, should have had one. With two minutes left in Game 3, Evan Turner slid by JaVale McGee on a drive and went up for a layup.
Draymond Green was 20 feet away, planted at the top of the key. Iguodala was the one who met Turner at the rim and swatted it away. But the official scorer credited Green. Must’ve figured it had to be him. Green had done something similar so many times prior.
The Warriors’ do-everything power forward had five blocks in Game 1, three in Game 2, six in Game 3 and three in Game 4. Those 17 total blocks are tied with Andre Roberson, who played an extra game, for the most of anyone in the playoffs. Entering Friday, Green had more than four entire teams — the Pacers (15), Jazz (15), Grizzlies (15) and Clippers (13) — even if the 14th of his 17 blocks was falsely credited.
“Nah, I didn’t (know I got one of Iguodala’s),” Green said. “But somebody got a couple of mine, so it’s probably like 18.”
There are many reasons Green is likely to win Defensive Player of the Year come June. Some are traditional stats (his 2.03 steals per game led the NBA this season). some are advanced stats (his 4.7 defensive “win shares” led the league) and some of it goes beyond the numbers, like when he killed a Warrior losing streak in March
by ending a Sixers rally with a smart foul in the final seconds before Philly could attempt a game-tying 3-point shot.
But of his vast defensive qualities, his shot-blocking may have been most useful in the Blazers series. Green changed Game 1 with a pair of highlight stuffs at the summit — blowing up a 2-on-1 by turning away a Noah Vonleh transition dunk and then stoning a Damian Lillard slam minutes later.
It set the tone for what was to come. The Warriors dominated the interior the rest of the series, blocking 41 Blazers shots in four games (Portland only blocked 19 of Golden State’s). Green’s output of nearly half of that massive number — as an undersized 6-foot-7 power forward, not a 7-foot hulking center — is the latest example of his generational defensive talent.
Steve Kerr used to be teammates with Dennis Rodman. He’s often compared Green to the NBA defensive legend. Mike Brown, now filling in for the ailing Kerr, used to coach Ben Wallace. Wallace was the defensive anchor of those pesky, mid2000s Pistons teams that won one title and battled for a few more. Wallace won Defensive Player of the Year in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006.
“There are similarities,” Brown said. “Both are undersized. But Ben was more of a center. He didn’t switch out. Draymond will switch out on guards and there will be a lot of times he may be guarding a guy out on the 3-point line and he’s somehow, someway still challenging guys’ shots at the rim and or getting blocks. Where Ben, most of the time, probably 95 percent of the time, he was always around that painted area. For him to go block a shot, contest a shot off the ball, he didn’t have to travel that far. To me, that’s what separates the two or makes Draymond that much more unique is the distance he covers at times to block shots, challenge shots. It’s inhuman.”
Green also has an incredible knack of keeping his blocks in the boundary of play. Some shot-blockers don’t. JaVale McGee has provided some additional rim protection this season. But after his arrival, Warrior coaches soon realized that on nearly all of his blocks, McGee would try to send them skyrocketing into the crowd, which gave the ball right back to the opponent. It erased a chance for a loose ball and potential fast break the other way.
“They were going up into the 15th row,” Brown said. “Steve showed him some tape, (Jarron Collins) showed him some tape and talked to him about it and JaVale now does a better job trying to keep the ball in play.”
To help McGee, they used Green as an example. He tries, if at all possible, to not only keep it inbounds, but also tap it to a teammate.
Of his 16 actual blocks in the Blazers series, Green kept 13 in play and batted nine of them into the hands of his teammates, often sparking an advantageous fast break. In total, Green’s blocks translated into 11 Warrior possessions.
“Steve always tries to tell us: Do the Bill Russell,” Green said. “Just hit the ball away, keep it inbounds, then we can get out on the break and we’re very tough to stop.”