And now, a word about the forgotten Golden State Warrior.
Hello again, Draymond Green.
In the past six weeks, the Jock Blog has penned two odes to Steph Curry and two more to Jimmy Butler.
In the spirit of today’s “2000s Friday” on the morning show . . . did I forget about Dray?
I think so. Time to rectify with a few words of appreciation for the ol’ graybeard. Literally. Have you seen those snowy flecks in the four-time champ’s facial hair? We’re a long way from Michigan State, kid.
Anyway, Draymond Green is playing outstanding basketball, and it may sometimes get lost in the flurry of 4,000 three-pointers or JimmyMania. On March 13, in a home win over the Sacramento Kings, Green led the team in scoring with 23 points.
It was the first time all year No. 23 led the team in scoring.
Last night, with Steph Curry in the locker room and the Toronto Raptors smelling blood in the water — Draymond Green the led team in scoring for the second time this season, with 21.
So if you had the ‘over’ in ‘Draymond Green will lead the team in scoring twice in a five-game span/1.5 times’, you are a smarter sports fan than I am.
What a development. I used to cringe when I saw Draymond Green release a three-point shot. He made five on Thursday night — on 14 tries! — and made four in the win over the Kings. From 2018-22 he never shot the three-ball over 29 percent. Ouch. Funny enough, in the 73-win campaign of 2015-16, Draymond had his stroke — 38.8 percent. But when Kevin Durant arrived and Green’s need to shoot the three dried up, so did his stroke.
Now I’m not saying he’s Reggie Miller. But I am saying the man is improving his stroke right before our eyes — or at least his willingness to launch and make —and improving his scoring. His 11.5 points in the month of March are a season high.
And we haven’t even gotten to the trademark of Draymond Green’s career, that Saginaw-bred defense. Green’s abilities to synthesize intellect, film study and sheer junkyard dog toughness have never gone into a slump, as I was just saying to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s box score from the win over the Bucks.
In fact, Draymond’s shut down of the Greek Freak caused Steve Kerr to get into his bag, calling Green the best defender he’s ever seen. Kerr has made a career of praising Green since Draymond’s baby fat days when Kerr famously called Draymond the “heartbeat” of the team. But the best defender ever? Dennis Rodman would have shot Kerr a text, but Rodman probably doesn’t have Kerr’s number — or anyone else’s.
Kerr backed off just a bit a couple of days later, lumping Draymond with his old Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen as the two best — with Rodman right next to them. Kerr does have a point: for all of the finger-wagging abilities of a Dikembe Mutombo, and for all the heft and muscle of Dwight Howard, very, very, very few can guard all five positions like 35-year-old Draymond Jamal Green, an eight-time All-Defense selection and the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Might he win it this year? Draymond noted that the injury to Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama opens the door. Who’s going to say no as Green seems to be picking up steam as the season races to a climax?
I suppose the main reason I pen this ode is because many Warriors fans have soured on Draymond Green since the Jordan Poole punch. I get it. It was not a shining moment, to say the least, to give a teammate a shiner. But I maintained then — there’s a Jock Blog somewhere — that Draymond Green had done too much for this organization for too long to cast him aside. As technical fouls and losses piled up in the ensuing next two seasons, Green again became an object of scorn from some corners of Warrior fandom. And when the team chose to extend Draymond Green for four years and $100 million, and let the lovable Klay Thompson go, more Green grumbling came.
Now look at him. Older. Stroking threes. Directing defensive traffic like it’s 2013. Bonding with Jimmy Butler, who seemed to use Draymond as an inspiration Thursday night after a game-sealing block. Butler pointed to Draymond Green and said, “I can do that, too.”
He wants to be like Draymond. This is a good thing for the Golden State Warriors, who continue to intrigue.