Not long ago, Jazz coach Snyder threw out the "Draymond Green MVP theory", Green himself expressed his identity, and the two sang and caused countless ridicule.
Many people don't understand how a player who averages 7.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game can compete for MVP.
If there are still people who do not understand, look at today's warrior and Bucks battle can understand.
From a personal data perspective, Green is really not eligible to compete for MVP. But from a value point of view, Green is indeed MVP level. Without Green, the Warriors lost to the Bucks 99-118 today, losing three of their last four games. In the seven games Green missed this season, the Warriors lost five games with just a 29 percent win rate.
In the Warriors' offensive system, Stephen Curry is undoubtedly the strongest point, and Green plays the pivot role. In the past, many people thought that Green was just a beneficiary of the Warriors' system and the gravitational pull of the library, and that many of the cover and passing jobs he was responsible for were competent. Even without Green, Curry plays a big core role in holding the ball with strong offensive ability and containment ability, and the Warriors' offense will not be bad.
But after the Warriors' two high-end games with the Grizzlies and Bucks recently, who would think so? Juan Toscano Anderson does have the ability to cover and pass, but "can" and "fine" are completely different concepts, Anderson is limited to the occasional role of a miracle in the high-end innings, while Green can continue to use cover and passing in the high-end rounds to help the Warriors maximize the power of the system and individuals.
Without Green, the Warriors' offensive system collapsed in half. In the game against the Grizzlies, Curry gave 10 assists, but the Warriors only delivered 25 assists across the team, and the Warriors' assists plummeted from the season average. Without Green creating an easy scoring opportunity for him, Curry shot just 8 of 21 from the field, including 9 of 2 three-pointers, and could only make more single-handed shots.
Against the Bucks, the Bucks are more targeted, the defending champion strangled Curry to death, the result is that Curry only got 11 shots in the whole game, the number of assists is only 4, the Warriors only have 20 assists, the lowest in the flat season, before the Warriors have two games of only 20 assists per game.
The significance of Green's offensive end to the Warriors has been interpreted many times, but judging from the Warriors' recent consecutive losses to the Grizzlies and Bucks, the impact of Green's absence on the Warriors is more reflected in the defensive end. Without Green, the Warriors' no. 1 defense collapsed.
Playing the Grizzlies, Andrew Wiggins against Morant can not keep up with Morant's speed is the appearance, originally in the NBA such a high-level game, the passive side of the defense is easy to be overtaken by the opponent, whether a defense is successful, the key depends on whether there are teammates to assist in the follow-up. In the past, Wiggins defended against the opponent's arrow guard, Green assisted the defense to help, with Wiggins's athleticism, he had enough time to return to the position, and the Warriors' defensive effect was excellent. But without Green, the Warriors had no one to provide reliable defense. The inability to defend the inside line directly led to the collapse of the outer line defense.
Playing bucks, the effect of Green's absence is more pronounced. With the configuration of the two sides, Green was the best candidate to keep an eye on Antetokounmpo, although he was not as high as the other side, but his mobility and confrontation ability were strong, and there have been many successful restrictions on Antetokounmpo's performance in the past. So far in his career, Antetokounmpo and Green have shot 49.3% from the field and averaged only 18.4 points per game.
Green wasn't there, the Warriors didn't have a defensive strength against Antetokounmpo, and the chain reaction was that the Warriors exposed a lot of problems in the alignment. In front of the combination of Antetokounmpo and Portis, the Warriors are down in both height and athleticism, and the Bucks can easily crush the Warriors in the alignment.
Over the past few years, defensive teams have developed a systematic defensive strategy against Antetokounmpo, which is simply "human wall tactics".
To defend against a counterattack, be sure to stick to the defense, and block Antetokounmpo's breakthrough path with 2-3 people within the three-point line. For example, the Heat's defense this time, flawless, blocked Antetokounmpo's breakthrough and forced him to shoot three points.
Another example is Green's previous defense of Antetokounmpo's shot, from the sticker defense to the anti-breakthrough impeccable.
Anti-singles, multi-use joint defense, multi-person containment. For example, the Hornets defended this time, and Antetokounmpo could only pass the ball without success.
There is also the shot of Green defending Antetokounmpo in the front, his next set can withstand Antetokounmpo's offense, and the Warriors are in place to successfully surround Antetokounmpo.
If it is decided to take a bag clip against Antetokounmpo, the subsequent rotation must be fast, because antechokounmpo's ability to break the bag has improved greatly in the past two years, and he has averaged 15.6 rounds per game this season, the fifth in the league, but the Bucks scored 1.25 points per game in the round he was clipped. The Hornets were able to win the Bucks before, which had a lot to do with their extreme performance of Antetokounmpo's bag clip and rotation position.
If Green is there and the Warriors can do that on the defensive end, he can play against Antetokounmpo, so that Looney can go to Portis with the big lineup, and Porter and Iguodala can also go to Portis. But without Green, the Warriors were confused, and they couldn't limit Antetokounmpo's low-post offense, counter-attacks, and singles from the basket.
At the beginning of the game, Looney received two defensive fouls early, Kerr replaced Iguodala, the height was insufficient, the alignment problem immediately appeared, and the Warriors had no players on the court who could protect the basket. After Middleton and Antetokounmpo blocked, Antetokounmpo easily dunked, and Wiggins and Thompson were unable to guard the basket.
In the second quarter, Kerr swung through Looney's +2 guard+2 flank lineup, but when Antetokounmpo and Portis were on the floor at the same time, the Warriors still couldn't find a solution in the alignment, and Damien Lee once had to struggle between defending Antetokounmpo or Portis. Throughout the game, Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, and even Portis scored 20 points.
When Cole was replaced by Bjelica, Antetokounmpo could easily single on his back.
Defensively, Iguodala and Looney could not withstand Antetokounmpo's onslaught, and the Warriors did not form a wall in front of him.
In the Warriors' defensive system, protecting the basket was the first choice, but today the Warriors' basketball defense was washed out, and they were shot 90% of the way against the sky by the Bucks on 18-of-20 shooting from the basket. And when the Warriors pay attention to protecting the basket, the outside line is taking care of one or the other.
At this time, the Warriors missed Green, who could take care of both the inside and outside defense, and this season, the Green defense center suppressed the opponent's shooting rate at 40.6%, and the defensive guard suppressed the opponent's shooting rate at 36.6%, and he was the most comprehensive defensive player in the league.
Fortunately, Green's injury is not serious and he can come back in the short term. But if the Warriors assume the title of defending champion, the Warriors should understand that even if Green is there, they won't be easy to win the Bucks. In the face of an interior combination of height, athleticism, and both interior shock and outside projection, Green, Looney, Porter, and Bjelica were not enough. In the next journey, whether facing the Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Grizzlies in the west, or Philadelphia and bucks in the East, they need Green to stay healthy and Wiseman to return as soon as possible.