Draymond Green and Triple-Doubles that matter
Draymond Green and Triple-Doubles that matter
Triple-Doubles you can trust!
Hey HQ, how do we feel about the triple-double stat these days? I think my earliest memory of that term came listening to my Grandpa telling me about the “Big O” Oscar Robertson’s greatness, the first man in NBA history to average a triple-double. I remember his eyes lighting up talking about “Big Game” James Worthy getting a 36-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double to win a Game 7 in the NBA Finals against the Pistons.
Once my dad started letting me peel the sports page out of the newspaper, I’d run my finger along the tiny print box scores in the Oakland Tribune, scanning for triple-doubles. On the rare occasions where I’d spot a statline with double-digits in points, rebounds, and assists, my brain would explode. “This guy must be good, because he did with the Big O did!”.
Now that I’ve matured and seen the triple-double awe turn into stat-padding idolatry, I’m starting to care less and less if a guy has a TD anymore.
*cracks open another beer and nestles deeper into the couch as my holiday belly strains over pajama’s waistband*
The first time I was disheartened by shameless triple-double chasing was when Ricky Davis disrespected the Utah Jazz back in the day by throwing the ball off his own hoop in the hopes of conning the stat counters:
And as Russell Westbrook rebranded himself as the triple-double king, the league began to find amusement in his singular focus to rack them up on a nightly basis. But don’t take my word for it, check out Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry cackling on the bench as Westbrook’s teammate Steven Adams didn’t finish an assist opportunity with the game already decided.
Did you catch the Toronto Raptors’ Fred VanVleet cracking jokes about Westbrook’s teammates not going after rebounds to help the stat chase?
Here’s some fun examples of guys trying to put the cherry on the top of their hot nights.
All that preamble to say: there’s something different about a Draymond Green triple-double. Last game he got one o’ dem in a victory over the Sacramento Kings with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
I saw this stat pop up on my social media timeline:
Oh yeah that’s right, when Dray gets that hallowed statistical mark, good things happen for the Dubs in a mystical way. Diving deeper into the numbers we see that:
If you include playoffs, the Dubs are 37-4 in games Dray racks up a TD.
His first TD came against the Toronto Raptors on January 2nd, 2015. IN A WIN.
His first playoff triple-double came in the NBA Finals, when he helped clinch Game 6 on the road in Cleveland as the Warriors won their first title of their modern dynasty. YES THAT’S RIGHT IT CAME IN A WIN.
The most points and rebounds Dray ever scored in a triple-double was 29 and 17 against the Denver Nuggets on January 2nd, 2016, 14 assists (and 4 steals sheeeesh). He was getting these numbers before Kevin Durant came, eh? and what’s up with him getting these TD’s the day after New Years?
Oh btw it came IN A FREAKIN’ WIN.
The fewest points Dray ever scored in a triple-double was 4 against the GRIT-N-GRIND Memphis Grizzlies, when he tortured them for 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 steals. He also added 5 blocks but ignore that because he didn’t have 10 of them lmao.
This came on February 10th, 2017…in….A…..WIN!!!!!!
If you’re wondering what’s the most assists Dray ever had in a TD, the answer would be 19 on February 26th, 2021. It came against the Charlotte Hornets in a win.
2019 was a very trying year for triple-double Dray. Remember when I said that the Warriors have lost four times (including postseason) when Dray has a triple-double? They all came in 2019.
Game 3 of the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals against Houston.
Game 1 of the 2019 Finals against Toronto.
Game 6 of the 2019 Finals against the Raps.
Random regular season game against the New York Knicks during the lost 2019-2020 regular season.
How unfortunate. But he’s back-on-track with triple-double magic now; just ask the Kings!
The "triple double without points" is one of my favorite Draymond games, as is the 5x5. But my favorite part where his fingerprints are on the stat sheet is in the other team's points column.
Daniel, the only figure I'm concerned about in Draymond's Tripdubs are the points. Give me a 16 point game from Draymond and I could care less about the boards and assists because those are the automatic stats that make up who Draymond is. He's going to get his no matter what. But those points are extremely important for winning games given the Klay-less Dubs iteration and Looney's meagre point contribution to the starting lineup. This means we win most close games, if there are any. :-)