How Draymond’s shooting could change Warriors’ offensive geometry originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Seven games into their season, five Warriors are shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc and three-point king Stephen Curry hasn’t been the most accurate. He is sixth, behind Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Andrew Wiggins, Lindy Waters and the number 1:
Draymond Green.
The guy opponents like to see them come up from deep.
Green shoots 52.6 percent from deep. He makes them from the corners and from the wings. He lines them up with confidence, lets them fly and watches most of them fall through the bottom of the net. He is 10 of 19 and on pace to surpass 200 triples for the first time in seven years.
“We always need an aggressive Draymond, who can take advantage of mismatches in the post and shoot open 3s,” Curry said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live.” ‘With the way [teams] Guard us, the way the ball moves, I don’t care if it goes 0 out of 10. It’s a matter of being aggressive and taking what the defense gives you, and he’s done a great job at it so far.”
Yet opponents still view Green as a non-shooter, leading defenders to observe from a distance and practically dare him to launch. Groen can, wants and must continue to accept that courage.
He embraced the challenge Monday night in Golden State’s tip-to-buzzer 125-112 win over the Wizards in Washington. Green scored 18 points, shot 5 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 4 from deep, and still had to hear trash talk from young Wizards forward Kyshawn George.
When George told Green, “You can’t shoot,” he had an answer ready for the plucky 20-year-old from Switzerland.
“I said, ‘You’ve seen people say that,’” Green recalled. “When you were in elementary school, you watched me win championships and people said the same thing.” ”
Green also gave George some advice.
“As we went back and forth, I said, ‘Don’t help,’” Green said. “He said, ‘Yes, I’ll keep helping.’ I said, ‘I can’t help you now, and you can’t help me now.’ ”
All three of Green’s triples came in the second half and were important as the Wizards never capitulated. His first 3-ball pushed Golden State’s lead from six to nine, his second from nine to 12, his third, with 4:11 to go, cut the lead to 12.
George never really seemed concerned, despite Green’s warning. None of his four outside attempts were hotly contested, as was the case for almost all of his previous fifteen. It’s like no team wants to guard him because his teammates are their biggest fear.
Curry implores them to follow the same strategy because it works for his old teammate.
“He made big shots in the fourth quarter to keep us up and keep the momentum on our side,” Curry said of Green. “It’s always great when he feels good and takes them down. He will always defend great and bring the energy, but the offense is such a great bonus for us.”
When the Warriors left Capital One Arena in the nation’s capital, they shot a combined 39.1 percent from distance. Behind Green is Buddy Hield at 50.0 percent, Moses Moody at 48.5, Andrew Wiggins at 44.8, Lindy Waters at 42.1 and Curry at 41.7. All six average at least 2.5 attempts per match.
The percentage of green is not sustainable. It will definitely fall. But last season he shot 39.5 percent beyond the arc on 129 attempts. With the Warriors on pace to hit a record number of 3s — with everyone but Kevon Looney and Trayce Jackson-Davis getting the green light — his total could double this season.
“I think I’m a really good shooter,” Green said last week.
The numbers over his past 63 games, dating back to last season, support that. He shoots 41.2 percent from distance. Curry is shooting 40.9 percent, a much higher volume since the start of last season.
We know which shooter is superior. The one who bends the defense just by his presence.
But Green is shooting 40 percent from deep against a soft defense, it’s a win for the Warriors. If he shoots 40 percent from deep for a month, defenses will have to make a choice — and it’s a win. It could change the team’s offensive geometry. Imagine how dangerous the Warriors could be another shooter. Consider, if you will, a lineup in which Draymond is, as my colleague Kerith Burke joked Monday night, a floor spacer.
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