How exactly will the Warriors go about replacing Draymond Green?
There isn’t one Golden State player who can defend, pass, shoot and handle the rock like Green can. It will take a community effort, and lots of button pushing by Steve Kerr to accurately mimic Green’s broad impact on a basketball game.
Kerr’s first decision is three separate directions he can take the starting lineup in Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The obvious choice is Andre Iguodala. He’s been LeBron James’ defensive nemesis for two straight seasons. With the Cavaliers likely to keep Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup, Harrison Barnes can slide over to guard the crafty 35-year-old veteran. Or if Kevin Love breaks his way off the bench — somewhere he was parked for the final 5:56 of the fourth quarter in Game 4 — Barnes could also hold his own on the 6-foot-10 shooting power forward
Starting Shaun Livingston might make some sense. The 30-year-old has arguably been the MVP of this series, and at 6-foot-7, he’s brilliantly been able to switch on defense, giving LeBron trouble on drives to the bucket. Barnes has proven he can hold his own on James, and this lineup could be viewed as a reward for his outstanding play in the NBA Finals. Maybe most importantly, if Kerr does start Livingston, he can still use Iguodala as that uplifting force coming off the bench.
A complete wild card to monitor is Brandon Rush. It allows Livingston and Iguodala to remain in their perfectly carved roles, while Barnes slides up to the power forward position. Remember Rush started 25 games in the regular season, but has since been reduced to a garbage time role in the 2016 postseason. It would be the ultimate Strength in Numbers move by Kerr if he did tab Rush as Green’s replacement.
Throughout the series — and why the Warriors were able to win Game 1 so convincingly — Green’s minutes in the rotation had changed, leaving him in to start the second and fourth quarters. The chess move by Kerr allowed for the Warriors to attack the Cleveland bench with Green running point on fast breaks. Tyronn Lue countered his rotations to include LeBron at the start of those quarters from Game 2 on, and has since faced questions from the media about whether James is fatigued or not. This scenario will change in Game 5, where Mo Speights could see the return of his role as the lead playmaker in those quarters.
What combination of big men will Kerr use to mimic Green’s post presence? Kerr could use the death lineup with Barnes at center, but it’s more likely we see a heavy rotation of centers instead.
Festus Ezeli is averaging just 6.3 minutes per game in the NBA Finals. Is this the time for the free-agent-to-be to break his silence and combat Tristan Thompson’s rebounding prowess? Against Portland and OKC, Ezeli had one game in each series that stood out and could have one more inspiring performance left in the tank. Anderson Varejao was a pest in a four short minutes in the third quarter of Game 4, providing hard screens, offensive tip-outs and energy that Cleveland couldn’t match.
Obviously, Andrew Bogut has been a force in this series at Oracle Arena, scoring 10 points in 15 minutes of Game 1 and blocking six shots in Game 2. Expect his minutes to increase. And then there’s James Michael McAdoo, who surprisingly made his NBA Finals debut in Game 4, playing seven minutes early on. Kerr will need to use a hodgepodge of all four, but it’ll be up to the head coach when to push each button. Each player brings something different.
In theory, it should be tougher for Klay Thompson and Steph Curry to find their shooting spots from behind the arc. Green’s ball handling, crisp passing and shooting touch himself — his 28 points in Game 2 crushed the Cavs — forces the Cleveland defense to know his whereabouts at all times. If it’s somebody like Varejao subbing for Green, the Cavs will trap the Splash Brothers, like they effectively did in the first three games. If that happens, Golden State will need quite the scoring effort from Barnes, Iguodala and Livingston.
We already wrote the Warriors are going to use Draymond’s absence as a motivational tactic. That won’t be enough. They’ll still have to execute to win Game 5 and a second straight championship.