Draymond Green shut down a Blazers comeback by bending basketball to his will

What more could Draymond Green have done on Sunday?

There’s actually an easy answer to that. With 6:52 left in the fourth quarter, Green stole the ball, sprinted with it down court in traffic, and rose up for a vicious one-handed tomahawk slam ... that bounced off the back iron and into the Trail Blazers’ hand. There’s a flaw from Green’s performance in the 121-109 Game 1 win against Portland. It might have been the only one.

Even if that’s slight hyperbole, what more could you really have asked from Green on Sunday? Take his line: 19 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, five blocks, three steals, and 6-of-9 shooting. Two more steals, and he would have recorded the 18th five-by-five — at least five of each of the five major counting stats — in NBA history. (Of the previous 17, the most recent one does belong to Green.) One more assist, and he would have added another triple-double to his ledger.

Those close misses at historic statistical feats shouldn’t undersell what Green actually did: completely stifle the Blazers on defense when they tried to attack him while playing a valuable role on the offensive end. Here’s Damian Lillard trying to attack Green when he recorded one of his five blocks. You can see it coming seconds before it actually happens.

Recently, there have been a few questions from fans about why Green deserves to be an All-NBA team selection over, say, Paul George. You can understand how George could initially been seen as more valuable because he contributes to the Pacers in a much more traditional way, scoring 24 points per game with the variety of pull-up jumpers and clutch makes you would normally associate with a “superstar.”

Green, on the other hand, is a 6’7 switchblade who can guard the entire floor, often plays center despite several inches of height disparity, and can go entire games barely scoring while still providing a crucial offensive role. (He became the first player to record a triple-double without earning 10 points this season, for example.) With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and now Kevin Durant on the roster, they don’t need him to average more than the 11 points he does. We saw last year he can be a bigger scoring threat if he wants — but on this team, with two of the league’s purest scorers and perhaps the best spot-up shooter all in the same uniform, why bother?

So savor this type of Green game, which highlights both why he probably should be Defensive Player of the Year and how the Golden State offense would lose a crucial element if Green was absent. And if you thought his game was good, just imagine if he had actually thrown down that dunk.

Somehow, in a game he finished with a line of 19-12-9-3-5, Green actually could have done more.