How Draymond’s shooting can change the 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 3-point king Stephen Curry hasn’t been the most accurate. He is sixth, behind Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Andrew Wiggins, Lindy Waters and number one:
Draymond Green.
Opponents love to see him come out from deep.
The green one is shooting. 52.6 percent from deep. He is doing them from the corners and from the wings. he is filling them with trustletting them fly and watching how most of them fall through the back of the net. He is 10 of 19, on pace to surpass more than 200 3-pointers for the first time in seven years.
“We always need an aggressive Draymond, taking advantage of mismatches in the post, shooting open 3s,” Curry said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live.” “With the way (teams) defend us, the way the ball moves, I don’t care if it goes 0 for 10. It’s a matter of being aggressive and taking advantage of what the defense gives you, and he has done it.” been doing very well so far.”
However, Green is still considered a “non-shooter” by opponents, causing defenders to continue watching from a distance, practically daring him to shoot. The Greens can, will continue and must continue to accept that challenge.
He accepted the challenge Monday night at Golden State’s end-to-bell victory 125-112 about the Wizards in Washington. Green scored 18 points, shooting 5 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 4 from deep and I had yet to listen to trash talk. from the Wizards’ young forward, Kyshawn George.
When George told Green “You can’t shoot,” he already had his answer ready for the brave 20-year-old Swiss youth.
“I said, ‘You’ve been seeing people say that,'” Green recalled. “When you were in grade school, you’d watch me win championships and people would say the same thing.” “
Green also offered some advice to George.
“As we were going back and forth, I said, ‘Don’t help,’” Green said. “He said, ‘Yes, I’m going to continue helping.’ I said, ‘I can’t help you right now, and you can’t help me right now.’ “
Green’s three 3-pointers came in the second half and were significant because the Wizards never capitulated. His first 3-pointer increased Golden State’s lead from six to nine, his second from nine to 12, and his third, with 4:11 left, returned the lead to 12.
George never seemed really worried, despite Green’s warning. None of his four attempts from beyond were highly contested, as was the case with almost all of his previous 15. It’s as if no team cares about defending him because his biggest fear is his teammates.
Curry implores them to keep the same strategy because it’s working for his longtime teammate.
“He made some great shots in the fourth quarter, to keep us afloat, keep the momentum on our side,” Curry said of Green. “It’s always great when he feels good and knocks them down. “He will always play great defense and bring energy, but offense is a big advantage for us.”
As the Warriors exit Capital One Arena in the nation’s capital, they are shooting a collective 39.1 percent from long range. 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 are averaging at least 2.5 attempts per game.
Green’s percentage is not sustainable. It is destined to fall. But last season he shot 39.5 percent from beyond the arc on 129 attempts. With the Warriors on pace to shoot a record number of 3-pointers (with everyone except Kevon Looney and Trayce Jackson-Davis getting the green light), their total could double this season.
“I think I’m a very good shooter,” Green said last week.
The numbers from his last 63 games, dating back to last season, back that up. He’s shooting 41.2 percent from deep. 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 breaks defenses with his mere presence.
But Green shooting 40 percent from deep against a soft defense is a win for the Warriors. If he shoots 40 percent from deep for a sustained month, defenses will have a decision to make, and that’s a win, too. It could alter the team’s offensive geometry. Imagine how dangerous the Warriors could be with other shooter. Consider, so to speak, a lineup in which Draymond is, as my colleague Kerith Burke joked Monday night, a floor spacer.
