Can the Warriors win without Draymond Green?

MANILA, Philippines – After review of the altercation between Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers late in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the league decided to penalize Green with a one game suspension. With this incident, the obvious question that comes to mind is can the record-breaking Warriors manage to win game 5 at home despite Green’s suspension?

We need to look into what Draymond brings to the table.

Elite Defender: Green obviously offers a defensive force, being voted second the past two years as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and rightfully so. He averaged 9.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.5 steals per game over the regular season. He also has the ability to guard every position on the floor being the versatile player that he is. So can the Warriors contain LeBron James without Draymond guarding him? The answer is yes, being the extremely stacked team that they are. They have Andre Iguodala, who is known for being an elite defender. He was a key reason the Warriors were able to win the championship last year as he was able to contain LeBron. In fact, LeBron’s field goal percentage was 38.1 percent while Iguodala was also on the floor. LeBron even said about Iguodala after last year’s finals, "It's never one-on-one, but I think his ability to play multiple positions for their team along with some of those other guys allowed their team to be so dynamic," justifying how Iguodala can handle the defensive force lost in Draymond’s absence.

Playmaking Ability: In a lot of ways, Draymond mirrors the great Magic Johnson when it comes to playmaking. Being the Warriors’ power forward, he surprisingly leads the team in assists this season with 7.4 a game. He is also a key piece in many of the Warriors’ deadly plays, being the versatile player that he is. He also sometimes brings the ball up the court over Stephen Curry. So can the Warriors still execute their fluid offense without their main facilitator Draymond? Yes; however, they need Curry to step up even more, which he is perfectly capable of doing being the back-to-back MVP. Curry also has one of the best visions in the NBA. However, with Draymond’s ability to run the offense, the Warriors decided to have Curry move more off the ball, being the deadliest shooter this world has seen. The Warriors can also look to Iguodala and Livingston to fill Draymond’s role as the Warriors have arguably the deepest bench in the League.

Scoring Ability: In these playoffs, Draymond has been averaging 15 points per game, including leading the team in scoring in Game 2 of these Finals, pouring in 28 points. He certainly offers a lot in terms of scoring. However, during this postseason, he averages 12.1 shot attempts per game. Without Draymond on the floor, those shots would go to other players instead like Curry and Klay Thompson, arguably the best duo in the NBA who average a combined 52.2 points per game.

Spacing: Draymond, who has drastically improved his 3-pointer, has already hit 32 triples this postseason. Being a power forward who can hit 3s really helps space the floor, which is key in the Warriors offense. With Draymond’s ability to hit the 3, this puts more attention on him while he is beyond the arc, giving Steph and Klay more room to function, being the best 3-shooters in the League. When they get double-teamed or even triple-teamed in some cases, Draymond will most likely be open to hit the open 3. However, the Warriors also have Harrison Barnes and Iguodala, who are also capable of hitting threes. In fact, they combined for 136 triples this Season. If they can step up in place of Draymond, the Cavs will need to give them more attention beyond the arc as well, providing the same effect Draymond has caused.

Leadership and Heart: Draymond is the vocal leader in the team huddles; he intimidates the opponents and challenges his teammates to give it their all. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr even stated that Draymond is “the heart and soul of the team.” The Warriors faced adversity being down 3-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Final and came back to with that series. They won the championship last year, and have a team where everyone are good friends. If anything, the suspension of Draymond will only motivate the Warriors to do Draymond justice and prove to the world that they are the rightful champions.