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The box score was much kinder to Draymond Green on Monday night than it was in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Still, his eight points, eight rebounds, six assists, one steal and two turnovers on 3-of-6 shooting hardly suggest the type of two-way impact we've come to expect from the greatest star role player of his generation.
Don't tell his coaches and teammates that Green's fingerprints weren't all over Golden State's 104-94 win over the Boston Celtics, though.
“I thought Draymond was brilliant,” Steve Kerr said after Game 5.
Andrew Wiggins hasn't always been known for affecting the game beyond the box score. As he continues staking his claim as an indispensable piece of the Warriors' championship puzzle, though, he's learned exactly what type of unseen value Green provides every time he steps on the floor.
“Everything I thought he was going to be like, he is,” Wiggins said following Game 5 of Green, his teammate for two-and-a-half seasons. “He’s intense, he speaks his mind and he makes everyone around him better…everyone around him better. He finds people, he creates. He’s a monster on the defensive side. You know, he’s an anchor.”
Green has received widespread flak throughout the Finals for his inability to knock down open shots and take advantage of space off the dribble. When Golden State's penchant for turnovers has resurfaced against the Celtics, he's been the biggest culprit.
But focusing on Green's missed shots and mistakes always deflects from the overall influence of his presence, even offensively. The Warriors' incessant motion in the halfcourt stems largely from Green's understanding of timing, angles and defensive strategy as a passer and screen-setter. The tide of this series turned in Game 2 when Kerr made him Jaylen Brown's primary assignment defensively, too.
But Green's impact also extends beyond the hardwood.
Some players of his caliber would've taken issue with being yanked from the fourth quarter of the Finals, like Green was in Game 4. Instead of barking at Kerr or losing his cool, though, he returned after a several-minute stint on the bench to help Golden State hang on for a series-changing victory. Green even defended Kerr's decision to bench him on his podcast after the game.
It's obvious to anyone who's been watching the Warriors over the last eight years that numbers don't accurately portray Green's effect on the game. If he can muster the surface-level production in Game 6 he did on Monday night, though, don't be surprised if Golden State is celebrating another championship when the final buzzer sounds.
