Draymond Green is himself again thanks to the Warriors’ lineup change
The Warriors’ switch to a small lineup has invigorated their situational star after he struggled so badly in Games 1-3.
By now, we're all familiar with the move. Down 2-1 in the series, Warriors coach Steve Kerr elected to make a change. Andrew Bogut was removed from the starting lineup, Andre Iguodala was inserted in his place. The change increased the pace of play, helped the Warriors' offense rediscover its touch and ensured that Iguodala would be guarding LeBron James whenever the two shared the court.
But Curry and Iguodala aren't the only ones benefiting from Kerr's decision. Quietly the change has also breathed new life into Draymond Green, and, as a result, tilted the series in the Warriors' favor.
Green was Golden State’s second most important player throughout its 67-win season and run through the Western Conference Finals. Prior to this series, the Warriors were 21.5 points per 100 possessions better with Green in the game during this playoff run.
But that Green -- the 6'7 forward who could guard both big men on the block and point guards on the wing, the one who could hit open three-pointers and create off the dribble -- was nowhere to be found in the NBA Finals' first three games. On offense, he looked passive and clueless. On defense, he was overmatched and lost. His play didn't fully explain the Warriors' 2-1 deficit. But it certainly wasn't helping the cause.
The Green-Curry pick and roll, one of the team's most effective plays in the regular season, stopped working as Green continuously failed to capitalize on the 4-on-3 situations he saw all year. He bricked myriad three-pointers. He was stoned by Timofey Mozgov whenever he tried to drive.
Through three games, Green was averaging just 2.7 assists per game while shooting 27 percent from the field. The Warriors were an incredible 25.6 points per 100 possessions better with him off the court, per NBA.com.
The small lineup, by contrast, has put Green in a position to thrive. With him at center, the Cavaliers now have to decide what to do with Mozgov. Do they keep him on the floor and force him to chase the Warriors' smaller and quicker players, or do they keep him glued to the bench and remove one of their more effective players from the court?
Mozgov has spent the majority of his time the past two games guarding Iguodala and allowing him to shoot from the outside. Iguodala responded by connecting on six of his 11 shots from behind the arc. Once, in Game 5, he picked Green up in transition. It ended disastrously.
The Warriors ran a Klay Thompson-Green pick-and-roll, Mozgov trapped it and Green quickly slipped the screen for an easy layup against a stretched defense with no big men near the rim.
This was why Blatt played Mozgov just nine minutes in Game 5 after a 28-point, 10-rebound performance in Game 4. When the Warriors spread the court the 7’1 Mozgov couldn’t keep up whenever Green was involved in the pick and roll.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, not playing Mozgov failed, too. When the Cavaliers switched on Green pick and rolls, the Warriors responded by seeking out the advantage in the post and using Green’s passing. Not only did Green have 16 points and nine rebounds in Game 5, but he also dished out six assists.
Two of them came off post ups, including this one in the second quarter when J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson switched a Curry-Green pick and roll. Upon recognizing the switch, Green took the smaller Smith into the post and hit a cutting Klay Thompson at the rim. The pass was open because Cleveland's lone big man, Tristan Thompson, was up top guarding Curry. Not only did Green get the assist, but his presence in the pick and roll completely changed Cleveland's defensive strategy.
The lineup changed also allowed Green to slow down in the 4-on-3 situations that occurred following Cleveland’s traps of Curry. No longer is Green panicking and jumping fruitlessly into Mozgov. Instead he’s shooting short floaters over him.
With Mozgov off the floor in Game 5, Green took advantage of the open space created by the pick-and-roll trap and found shooters along the perimeter. The three-point dagger that Iguodala hit from the left corner to give the Warriors an 89-84 lead with 4:17 left was set up by a Green pass from the middle of the floor.
Remember how the Warriors were minus-25.6 points per possession with Green on the floor during Games 1-3? That has flipped to plus-32 per 100 possessions in Games 4 and 5, a team high.
Green is now spending nearly all his time on the floor playing as a center and the Cavaliers have yet to figure out an answer. Because of how effective Green has been in these lineups, Cleveland can no longer keep two big men on the court They cannot drag the game into the mud with the same ease.
Green may not look like a typical star, but the impact he’s now having on this series as a center is certainly star-like.
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