Kyrie Irving had the game of his life Monday night, torching the Golden State Warriors for 41 points on their home floor to extend the NBA Finals to a Game 6 on Thursday. It was one of the most iconic performances of modern postseason history and owed a lot, of course, to the absence of one very important Warrior.
Steve Kerr knows who:
Kerr on Green: "I told him you don't owe anyone an apology. Without you, we're not even here. We'd be on vacation."
— Fast Break (@GSWFastBreak) June 16, 2016
Draymond Green, suspended for the matchup after accumulating too many flagrant fouls during the postseason, is the consummate glue man for the Warriors’ defense. While Irving and LeBron James (who added 41 of his own points) played sensationally, there’s no doubting their lives were made much easier by the absence of the opposition’s best help defender and most versatile individual one.
While Steph Curry and Klay Thompson often grab accolades for their pyrotechnic shooting displays, it’s Draymond who has been their most consistent player. Green missed just one regular season game (which the Warriors lost), and Kerr, who has previously called him the team’s beating heart, knows just how valuable he is.
The double-sided sword of Green’s sometimes-wanton intensity has, for once, cut Golden State instead of their foe. When he returns for Game 6, they’ll breathe a sigh of relief that his edge has returned to their side.
