NBA Finals Game 2: Four Takeaways

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Jun 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) shoots the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) in game two of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Draymond Green is pretty good

At this point, Draymond Green is the front-runner for Finals MVP. Through two games, he’s averaging 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. He leads the Warriors in points, rebounds, assists, steals, three-pointers made (tied with Curry), and free throws made (tied with Shaun Livingston). Those numbers, as usual, don’t even begin to capture how disruptive he’s been defensively.

After the game, LeBron James heaped credit on Green (h/t Sean Deveney, Sporting News):

“Give credit where credit is due. The guy made shots. Not only when we left him open and contested late, but he made shots in our face. He had five threes. And we know he’s a key for their team, we all know that, an All-Star for their team. And he made some big plays both offensively and defensively, obviously. We know what he does defensively for that team, so game ball to him.”

In last season’s Finals, Cleveland’s game plan was to make Green a decision-maker in the middle of the floor. They hedged hard on pick-and-rolls, containing Curry and trusting that Green couldn’t beat them in the 4-on-3 left behind. Early in the series Green struggled in that role, resorting to ugly in-between floaters. Gradually, he adjusted, being more assertive with his own drives and finding shooters in the corners. In the end, Green in the middle of the floor was Cleveland’s undoing.

This season Cleveland appears to be focused on making Green a shooter, willing to leave him behind the three-point line as opposed to the other myriad places he could be hurting them. Green has already attempted 14 three-pointers (more than Klay Thompson) and has made half of those attempts. However, in trying to goad him into shooting the Cavs have done a terrible job of challenging the attempts. So far an even dozen of Green’s threes have been classified as “open” or “wide-open” by NBA.com.

Defending the Warriors is about picking your poison. The problem is, it’s all poison.

Next: 1. Cleveland's offense is a mess

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