Steph Curry is the Golden State Warriors’ most talented player, but Draymond Green might be the defending champions’ most irreplaceable one. He’s no longer just the fulcrum of basketball’s most malleable defense and deadliest lineup. After a summer spent honing his skills on the court and furthering his understanding in the film room, Green’s sweeping offensive improvement makes him the game’s most versatile overall player – LeBron James included.
There’s no more room left to argue about the two-time Defensive Player of the Year runner-up’s worth to the Warriors. Green is every bit as valuable as the earth-scorching playmaker that just won his second MVP by unanimous vote.
That’s what makes these NBA Finals so suddenly interesting. There just isn’t much evidence to support how Golden State will perform while the suspended Green watches Monday’s close-out game from a suite at O.co Coliseum. He played in every game but one during the regular season, a 112-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets in which Brandon Rush and the since-departed Jason Thompson were on the floor for tipoff.
Steve Kerr loves experimenting with rotations during the 82-game grind, and hasn’t been shy to insert seldom-seen bench players in times of need throughout the postseason. The Warriors won’t be forced to rely on deep reserves to win Game 5, but don’t be surprised when Kerr rolls out lineups even an ardent league follower has never seen before.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to still be effective at both ends without [Draymond],” the Coach of the Year told reporters on Sunday. “So we do have, as I mentioned, a lot of players who have helped us all year long, big and small and in between. So probably a lot of different people will get a chance tomorrow.”
Losing a player of Green’s caliber on this stage would spell doom for most teams, as would the prospect of dusting off guys like Rush and James Michael McAdoo – who made his first Finals appearance in Game 4 – with a championship on the line. But Golden State, as has been made abundantly clear over the past 18 months, isn’t most teams.
Andre Iguodala has the best plus-minus of any player in the Finals for the second year running. Shaun Livingston is right behind him, and at 6’7 allows the Warriors to stay true to their switch-heavy defensive ethos.
Veterans Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa have both swung playoff games with their unique brands of energy and hyper-activity. Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli will be given longer leashes with Green watching from across the parking lot, and McAdoo will definitely be given another chance to make an impact. Sharp-shooting bench players Marreese Speights and Ian Clark could be of great use, too.
The Warriors will be a much different team without Green, and the Cleveland Cavaliers might be better equipped than anyone to exploit that inevitable reality. The Eastern Conference champs will continue feasting on the offensive glass, and surely enjoy more success attacking individual defenders after switches. Green’s absence will likely mean more minutes for Kevin Love, too; he won’t be such a defensive liability with a more traditional big man occupying that normally shape-shifting place in the opponent’s attack.
The effects of Green’s suspension will ripple. Golden State can’t replace him. But if there’s any team that can withstand the vacancy of arguably its most influential player in the Finals, it’s probably one that just set the all-time record for single-season victories, possesses the best shooting tandem the game has ever seen, and still boasts experienced depth that’s the envy of its counterpart. It would likely be one that plays home games in the friendly confines of Oracle Arena, too.
The Warriors might not win Game 5, and it will mostly be because Green isn’t on the floor. But what a testament it is to their strength in numbers that Curry and company have a good chance to hoist another trophy by night’s end anyway.
