I don’t worry about Draymond on the court. While his athleticism is mentioned frequently, what really drives his excellence is his smarts. Much like Andre, the guy has a sixth sense about where everyone is going to be in three seconds. He knows how to use his body and will be fine when it counts. His passing will convert into assists when he has more teammates who can hit a shot. And his shot will improve when defenders don’t believe he is his own first option.
I’d be lying if I denied that he makes me cringe at times. Much like I used to want to tape Steven Jackson’s mouth, I often think it’d be a good idea to find a spot for Mary Babers on the bench. That said, Curry, Thompson and Kerr seem to have thick skin and don’t offend easily. I do believe he can light a fire when teammates are sleepwalking. And he is by far my favorite player in front of a mic.
Regarding trade talks, that is blasphemy. 😳 It is more more important to me that Curry, Thompson, Green and Kerr show the world their brand of small ball does not require a Durant to win It all. I don’t want another MVP to join the crew. I want our current stars to be surrounded by decent complimentary players who are generally plus defenders. I love the Wiggins acquisition because the NBA world had written him off.
I’m looking forward to someday watching Draymond regularly sitting across the table from Barkley. It will be so much better if the Warriors win at least one more championship with Draymond as our crunch time center.
What Dray needs is to work with a shooting coach, something he should have already been doing. He needs it, desperately with his fading athleticism limiting his ability to finish inside. Our team needs it with our lack of shooting on the outside.
No, especially since in his interview with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Green even mentioned that he knew his 3pt shooting had to get better and he was going to work on it in the off season. I doubt he can achieve his goal of 40%, but if he could just get back to 33% teams wouldn't be able to leave him unguarded at the perimeter.
Basketball wise, I’m pretty unconcerned. Maybe because it’s because I just happened to watch the last game of the 2017 Jazz playoff series last night and got reminded of how thoroughly he can dismantle a professional B-ball team if he’s healthy and engaged. Watching him completely bamboozle Gobert on D, run the point about 75% of crunch time, and actually shoot efficiently was a thing of beauty. The fear that he’s going to “lose a step” as he gets older is of course warranted, as time comes for us all! But it’s not as though he’s had a bunch of lower body injuries that are quickly sapping his athleticism. This last season was a write-off before it REALLY became a write-off! I believe a motivated Draymond will keep himself in shape because he seems to have a burning desire to be dominant and relevant.
As far as the extracurricular stuff, as long as Draymond has a microphone or a social media account he’s probably going to be using them to roast people, as he does on the court. His consistent unsubtlety is probably going to land him a nice, solid career after he hangs up his sneakers... he’s a sure-fire bet to keep a telecast humming along if he chooses to. I think the team knows his deal by now and chose to pay him anyhow.
I'm somewhat worried about him. I don't think 2016 Draymond will ever come back. There's just too many miles and the physical toll of what he did is just much different than the other guys like Steph, Klay and Dre who played through the 5 straight Finals runs. Draymond and LeBron are also the only guys in modern history who actually played in 5 straight Finals and then played a 6th regular season. LeBron is obviously historical physical specimen and even he coasted/picked his spots for long stretches. He's just so great that coasting for him still works out pretty great.
I'm NOT worried that last/this year means much. He's the only guy who had to play. It was a lost season. I actually give him credit for the amount of professionalism he did bring to the table.
What he needs to do: 1) He definitely needs to commit to fitness year round in a way he hasn't previously. 2) He needs to nudge his 3p% back up. Forget 34-38%. 30-31% will do. Take 3 shots a game, make 1.
What the team needs to do: 1) Infuse the roster with more defensive talent so it's not all reliant on him. 2) Reduce his minutes in general. At some point he should move to the bench in a Dre-like role I think. But even if the bench role isn't this year, get his minutes down. Let him play a more energetic 26 vs a coasting 33.
I'm not nearly concerned enough about Green to consider trading him, but do I worry about the guy? Truthfully, yes. Both in his off-court stuff (he seems to court controversy) and on the court (he's on the wrong side of 30; his shot seems to have abandoned him; and it's hit or miss as to whether or not he'll feel sufficiently motivated). I love the guy and will always be grateful for what he's contributed to the historic run, but I think the jury is still out on how much he's got left in the tank. It pains me to write that.
I’m a bit worried that Draymond looked great running the offense when Wiggins arrived, then got into a spat with Kerr and sat out the rest of the season (a few games) injured.
If Kerr is willing to stagger while Curry rests, I would be a big believer in a Draymond led Offense with Klay and Ender Wiggins running off screens and cutting respectively. A healthy Looney and another shooter could round out that 5.
I’d like to see Dray bring it all year to show he can, but I wouldn’t mind first and last quarters of the season plus Christmas as traditionally accepted times to see who really has the goods.
I don’t worry about Draymond on the court. While his athleticism is mentioned frequently, what really drives his excellence is his smarts. Much like Andre, the guy has a sixth sense about where everyone is going to be in three seconds. He knows how to use his body and will be fine when it counts. His passing will convert into assists when he has more teammates who can hit a shot. And his shot will improve when defenders don’t believe he is his own first option.
I’d be lying if I denied that he makes me cringe at times. Much like I used to want to tape Steven Jackson’s mouth, I often think it’d be a good idea to find a spot for Mary Babers on the bench. That said, Curry, Thompson and Kerr seem to have thick skin and don’t offend easily. I do believe he can light a fire when teammates are sleepwalking. And he is by far my favorite player in front of a mic.
Regarding trade talks, that is blasphemy. 😳 It is more more important to me that Curry, Thompson, Green and Kerr show the world their brand of small ball does not require a Durant to win It all. I don’t want another MVP to join the crew. I want our current stars to be surrounded by decent complimentary players who are generally plus defenders. I love the Wiggins acquisition because the NBA world had written him off.
I’m looking forward to someday watching Draymond regularly sitting across the table from Barkley. It will be so much better if the Warriors win at least one more championship with Draymond as our crunch time center.
What Dray needs is to work with a shooting coach, something he should have already been doing. He needs it, desperately with his fading athleticism limiting his ability to finish inside. Our team needs it with our lack of shooting on the outside.
I never worry about Day Day.
No, especially since in his interview with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Green even mentioned that he knew his 3pt shooting had to get better and he was going to work on it in the off season. I doubt he can achieve his goal of 40%, but if he could just get back to 33% teams wouldn't be able to leave him unguarded at the perimeter.
Basketball wise, I’m pretty unconcerned. Maybe because it’s because I just happened to watch the last game of the 2017 Jazz playoff series last night and got reminded of how thoroughly he can dismantle a professional B-ball team if he’s healthy and engaged. Watching him completely bamboozle Gobert on D, run the point about 75% of crunch time, and actually shoot efficiently was a thing of beauty. The fear that he’s going to “lose a step” as he gets older is of course warranted, as time comes for us all! But it’s not as though he’s had a bunch of lower body injuries that are quickly sapping his athleticism. This last season was a write-off before it REALLY became a write-off! I believe a motivated Draymond will keep himself in shape because he seems to have a burning desire to be dominant and relevant.
As far as the extracurricular stuff, as long as Draymond has a microphone or a social media account he’s probably going to be using them to roast people, as he does on the court. His consistent unsubtlety is probably going to land him a nice, solid career after he hangs up his sneakers... he’s a sure-fire bet to keep a telecast humming along if he chooses to. I think the team knows his deal by now and chose to pay him anyhow.
I'm somewhat worried about him. I don't think 2016 Draymond will ever come back. There's just too many miles and the physical toll of what he did is just much different than the other guys like Steph, Klay and Dre who played through the 5 straight Finals runs. Draymond and LeBron are also the only guys in modern history who actually played in 5 straight Finals and then played a 6th regular season. LeBron is obviously historical physical specimen and even he coasted/picked his spots for long stretches. He's just so great that coasting for him still works out pretty great.
I'm NOT worried that last/this year means much. He's the only guy who had to play. It was a lost season. I actually give him credit for the amount of professionalism he did bring to the table.
What he needs to do: 1) He definitely needs to commit to fitness year round in a way he hasn't previously. 2) He needs to nudge his 3p% back up. Forget 34-38%. 30-31% will do. Take 3 shots a game, make 1.
What the team needs to do: 1) Infuse the roster with more defensive talent so it's not all reliant on him. 2) Reduce his minutes in general. At some point he should move to the bench in a Dre-like role I think. But even if the bench role isn't this year, get his minutes down. Let him play a more energetic 26 vs a coasting 33.
I'm not nearly concerned enough about Green to consider trading him, but do I worry about the guy? Truthfully, yes. Both in his off-court stuff (he seems to court controversy) and on the court (he's on the wrong side of 30; his shot seems to have abandoned him; and it's hit or miss as to whether or not he'll feel sufficiently motivated). I love the guy and will always be grateful for what he's contributed to the historic run, but I think the jury is still out on how much he's got left in the tank. It pains me to write that.
I’m a bit worried that Draymond looked great running the offense when Wiggins arrived, then got into a spat with Kerr and sat out the rest of the season (a few games) injured.
If Kerr is willing to stagger while Curry rests, I would be a big believer in a Draymond led Offense with Klay and Ender Wiggins running off screens and cutting respectively. A healthy Looney and another shooter could round out that 5.
I’d like to see Dray bring it all year to show he can, but I wouldn’t mind first and last quarters of the season plus Christmas as traditionally accepted times to see who really has the goods.