Draymond Green is the key to the Warriors’ recent rise, but relying on him is a risky proposition

San Francisco – Here it was. The moment we’ve all been anticipating, for better or worse.

After weeks of abiding by the rules, biting his tongue and suppressing his desires, Draymond Green faced a crossroads when he and Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic battled physically and verbally, on multiple trips down the court. And on one road there was revenge, aggression and intimidation – and we know where this road leads A suspension even longer than his last one. On the other path: inaction, humility, and pacifism — a path that most Golden State Warriors fans were hoping Green would take.

True to everything we know about the man, basketball player and competitor, Draymond Green has chosen to rule out both paths, instead forging his own path in the middle.

Green walked the proverbial line that the Warriors organization constantly points to when it comes to their emotional leader — taking on Nurkic without flinching. Making trash talk without getting a technical rating (he would later receive one for arguing with the referees, not Nurkic). Going to the Suns Center without taking himself or his team out of the game. It was a great lesson in what Green must be, as a player and a leader, for Golden State to succeed.

“We didn’t want him to be Mr. Goody Two Shoes. We wanted him to be himself, but not cross the line,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Green. “We want him to be among the officials, but not shout obscenities at the official. That’s what he does. He is himself, but he doesn’t cross the line.”

Green’s behavior is very important moving forward given how important he has been to the Warriors’ comeback recently. Since Kerr Green was listed as the starting center at the end of January, Golden State has gone 8-3 with a net plus rating of 8.6 — fourth-most in the NBA during that stretch.

The offense, dead in the water at times during the season, was revitalized by Green’s energy and playmaking. It’s no coincidence that Stephen Curry’s best shots this season came with his old teammate by his side. The synergy they’ve developed over 12 seasons is evident the moment he steps on the basketball court. Green ranks in the 94th percentile on offense including a*sists, according to Synergy Sports, and the eye test backs up the numbers with the way he organizes work and finds teammates.

Watch here as Green reads Curry’s movement off the ball, dribbles toward him to create a pa*sing angle before sk**lfully blocking Vince Williams Jr.’s lane to defend Curry’s shot.

“Nobody understands how to make shots better than Draymond Green,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “Whether the bullet pa*ses to the angle you are playing at [dribble hand-off] Game with these guys. …One of the best to ever do it.”

The Warriors’ uncharacteristically sluggish pace to start the season picked up dramatically with Green at center. Prior to Jan. 27, Golden State was playing on an average of 99.7 possessions per game, which ranked 13th in the league. Green has upped that to 102.4 (fifth in the NBA) over the last 11 games.

His presence has also opened up the forward duo of Andrew Wiggins and emerging star Jonathan Kuminga. On paper, the Wiggins-Kuminga pairing looks ideal, providing long-range defenders who can also score in a variety of ways, but before Green returned from a suspended lineup featuring Wiggins and Kuminga they had a disastrous net rating of -25 in 171 minutes. In the 13 games since Green’s return, when he’s been on the floor with Wiggins and Kuminga, the Warriors have a net rating of 18.3. It’s hard to overstate how important Green has been in allowing Golden State to play the way they want to play, with athleticism and toughness.

Defensively, Green’s work speaks for itself. His communication, positioning, verticality, interchangeability – these traits make him one of the greatest defenders in NBA history, so it’s no surprise that Golden State’s defense has gone from 24th to 7th since returning from his suspension.

Putting it all together, the Warriors have a top-five offense and top-five defense over the past 11 games — much closer to what Kerr expected from his mediocre start to the season. Chris Paul is on his way back, Klay Thompson I flourished In his first game off the bench, rookie Brandin Podzemski shined as a starter. All of those things help, but for the Warriors to continue their momentum through the stretch and into the playoffs, Green — as invaluable as he is on the field — must continue to gracefully walk the line between emotion and chaos.

In the past, Green has been able to do just that, and the result has been four titles. But the repetition of his indiscretions over the past two years has at least the Warriors wondering whether Green can be trusted to keep his cool when the next confrontation arises.

“It’s been a delicate situation and he’s trying to resolve that and not let it spill over, because we can’t have that and he knows that — he can’t afford to let it get out of hand,” Curry said of Green. . “But it feeds him because he lives for those moments… and I’ve seen that in the best moments for sure. So I want to encourage him to keep doing that.”

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