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Where would the Golden State Warriors be without Draymond Green? Aside from being the heart and soul of the team, Green is the anchor for what has been a stifling Warriors defense during the second half of the 2024-25 season. The Defensive Player of the Year finalist has been dominant in big moments against the Houston Rockets, particularly when matched up against All-Star center Alperen Sengun.
Green is constantly running around on defense, getting his teammates in the right position and establishing himself as a help-side defender more times than not. However, when it comes to man-to-man assignments, Green has been responsible for containing Sengun, who is five inches taller than him.
The story of the Warriors' 109-106 win in Game 4 can be broken down in many ways. Brandin Podziemski had 26 points, Jimmy Butler's injury return sparked a fourth-quarter rally, and Fred VanVleet was unstoppable from deep for Houston.
However, the biggest storyline, and perhaps the most overlooked, is the fact that Green is getting key stops on Sengun time and time again.
No stop against the Rockets All-Star was greater than the one at the end of the game. With five personal fouls, a technical foul, and a flagrant foul to his name, Green took on the responsibility of playing Sengun one-on-one. The end result was a critical stop for the Warriors, resulting in Draymond going to the camera and letting everyone know that Sengun had no chance of scoring on him.
"No, no, no. Not on me."
Draymond Green was HYPED after his defense on Alperen Sengun for the Warriors' win in Game 4 🔥pic.twitter.com/44swUXP6GC https://t.co/9ERHPQdlZa
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 29, 2025
Green and the Warriors believe that he should have won the Defensive Player of the Year award over Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley. While they could talk about this all day, Green is fueling his motivation by getting stop after stop on Sengun in this series.
In Game 4, Green was matched up with Sengun defensively on 12 different possessions. The Rockets center only made three shots and took two free-throw attempts against the Warriors veteran, according to NBA Stat on Bluesky. Sengun was 8-of-13 with eight free-throw attempts against the rest of Golden State's roster.
Even though Sengun still finished this game with 31 points and 10 rebounds, his best game of the series, he was again contained by Green when it mattered most. After Game 4, Green spoke about the final stop of the game on Sengun and how he goes about defending the All-Star.
“He likes to iso right in the middle of the paint,” Green said of his defense on Sengun, via 95.7 The Fan in San Francisco. “So, when he started coming downhill, I gave a little ground. Stack (Jerry Stackhouse) always tell us, ‘There's a time that you have to get serious.' He said it was time to get serious. And you just try to pick that point, you know? I don't want to pick it too early where he's facing me and now I pick up a cheap one.
“Just try to find that sweet spot and get serious, as Stack says. I thought I found a good spot into the deep jumper.”
Golden State understands just how valuable of a defender Green is. Regardless of his antics on the court at times, he's a game-changer when locked in and ready to make a play. That is what happened at the end of Game 4 with Green getting what turned out to be a game-winning stop against Sengun.
The consistent string of success Green has found on defense against the Rockets and his effort to get a stop on one of the final plays of Game 4 led to praise from head coach Steve Kerr.
“He's the best defender I've ever seen in my life,” Kerr confidently said after Game 4's win. “He rises to the occasion. On top of being a great defender, he's an incredible competitor. I've seen it for 11 years. Game on the line, Draymond making a stop — it's like having Steph Curry take the shot.”
While not an easy task, Green has seemed to solve the puzzle of how to contain Sengun in big moments during this series. He and the Warriors will be looking to do so one last time in Game 5 against the Rockets on Wednesday night in Houston.
