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Draymond’s basketball prodigy in victory over Grizzlies originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole combined for 31 of the Warriors’ 32 fourth quarter points in a last-second 122-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. His one remaining point belonged to Draymond Green.
Arguably, Green is just as important as the Warriors’ three scoring monsters, with a delicious win over a growing rival.
Don’t judge Draymond by the number of points scored. Don’t judge him by his score in the box, even on a night when his stats filled his sheet like against the Grizzlies with 8 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal. To understand Greene’s greatness, you have to really look at him.
At times, his basketball genius can be subtle. In the latest example, with two and a half minutes remaining, the Warriors are 113-111 and he’s two points down.
On Desmond Bain’s three-pointer in flight, Green peeks to his right to see where Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. is. He then boxed out Brandon Clarke and beat Jackson to the point where Bain’s misfire landed. That’s when he, one of the smartest players in NBA history, always comes out on top. Draymond didn’t just beat Jackson with the ball.
When he learned that the Grizzlies’ defensive star committed five fouls, he changed his body to Jackson. Green immediately pointed in the direction of Golden State. He completely lured Jackson into fouling.
After the Warriors’ win, Steve Kerr said, “I think Jaren Jackson’s sixth foul was a big moment in the game. It allowed us to play longer and play smaller.”
Jackson had 17 points and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes for the Grizzlies, plus-7 plus/minus. They certainly could have used the last two minutes or more.
Without him, we would have won the rest of the game 11-7. After Jackson fouled out, the Warriors grabbed his 5 rebounds and the Grizzlies grabbed his 1. Jackson is averaging 6.6 of his rebounds per game this season.
For Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, that area of the game was decisive for who would emerge as the winner.
“We didn’t rebound,” Jenkins said when asked what went wrong in the last few possessions.
Also, the defense was not good enough. Last season, Jackson was named All-Defensive First to his team. This season, he missed his first 14 games with injury and has been a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year since returning. His 103 His Defensive His rating is the highest of his career, and if qualified, he would lead the league with 3.2 blocks per game.
The Warriors won on a last-second layup that saw one of the game’s best defenders and shot-blockers stick to the bench as Green won his latest mind game.
And his fourth quarter contribution didn’t stop there. Green’s free throw with 30 seconds remaining gave the Warriors his one-point lead. He also recorded 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in the fourth set. In the end, his basketball IQ made the difference again.
Green was the final decision maker on the Warriors’ final out-of-bounds play with a time of 2.6 seconds. Kerr admitted the Warriors hadn’t practiced in months. Error tolerance was minimal. Poole made a perfect back his cut at the right time, and Donte his DiVincenzo hit him right in the chest, and the Warriors sacked his last two with Jackson stuck on the sideline.
“He suggested it and I liked it,” Carr said. “We had enough people out there who knew the play to sort it out. There are some good options from there.”
Then there’s the final piece of what Kerr had available with Jackson out. As he said, it allowed the Warriors to shrink in stride. Kerr swapped Anthony Lamb for Kevon Looney, with Looney on defense and Lamb on offense. He also managed to keep DiVincenzo on the floor, who fought for the rebound first, boxed Jamorant out on Thompson’s late jumper, and kept the Warriors’ hopes alive on a pass to the pool. It helped me keep going.
A group of five, Poole, Thompson, DiVincenzo, Lamb and Green, played together for 28 seconds. As a unit, they were plus-five, beating the Grizzlies 5-0.
Draymond Green is a chess grandmaster.
RELATED: JP makes amends for mistakes, Steph’s emotional mouthpiece throw
“It started with the 2015 championship, so I’m all for that,” Thompson said of the Warriors going smaller. We don’t need to fix it, it’s going to be someone’s night because we have a great space and we have a lot of great scorers on this team.”
“Anyone’s Night, Any Game”
Under the points scored, it was Curry, Thompson and Poole against the Grizzlies. The same goes for greens and final scores.
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