Draymond Green hasn’t produced much offense during the NBA Finals, but he’s found other ways to help Golden State win.
When the Golden State Warriors made their fourth-quarter push to get back into the NBA Finals, Draymond Green had the unusual role of spectator. The versatile Green, who has been one of the stalwarts of Golden State’s dynasty, got pulled in crunch time of Game 4 in what was a shocking but effective decision by Coach Steve Kerr. Now with the series shifting back to California, tied heading into Game 5 on Monday night, Kerr said he has no concerns about what he’ll get out of Green the rest of the way.
“Draymond is Draymond. He’s going to bring it every night,” Kerr said Sunday. “I think the thing that maybe got lost the other night is how good he was down the stretch. He ends up in the game with four steals. He was brilliant defensively. He did what we needed to do to win the game.”
Green said he wasn’t “thrilled” by Kerr’s decision in Game 4 on Friday night in Boston to send him to the bench with the Warriors down four points with 7:32 to play. But the move worked well, with Golden State going on an 11-4 run behind a lineup featuring Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney. Green returned with 3:41 to play and the Warriors ahead 97-94, then shuttled in and out with Poole as Kerr mostly used Green when Golden State was on defense. The plan worked, and Golden State won 107-97 to tie the series at two games apiece.
“I think I made an impact on the game the whole game,” Green said. “I think you can get caught up in everything that’s going around, but those that watch and understand basketball, I made an impact the entire game.
