Less is more for Draymond Green

Draymond Green needs to stick to who he is and play his own game instead of trying to do more than he should.

Draymond Green is a special player.

He’s the best power forward in the league with no reasonable comparison in NBA history. He’s an undersized beast that can bang with the biggest centers on the defensive end and get everyone going on the offensive end.

For Green, less is more and he needs to do less if the Warriors are going to win a championship.

In Monday’s Game 1 home loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Green tallied 23 points and added just 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He was even in +/-. Generally, Green has been the type of player whose production goes beyond the quantifiable, but in this one, his numbers made his game look better than it was.

The Thunder were determined to not let Stephen Curry get going. And after having a big first half, they clamped down on Klay Thompson too. OKC gave Green several different looks, essentially baiting him to take shots that he doesn’t normally take. They gave him a combination of Steven Adams, Kevin Durant, and Dion Waiters that gave him trouble all night long.

It was clear that the Thunder’s game plan was “let Draymond shoot.” He took 20 shots, hitting 9 of them for a respectable 45 percent from the field. He was 0-4 from beyond the arc and just 5-9 from the free throw line. We’ve seen Green take over games offensively, but those games happen naturally when the lanes open up and he takes shots in rhythm. The dancing in the Vine above is not what his game is.

OKC likes to go big, trotting out a lineup with Enes Kanter and Adams. Green can exploit this matchup, using his quickness to drive past whichever tree is on him. Most times he can get into the lane and use his much-improved finishing ability to put in a variety of layups. If the defense helps on the drive, he can kick it out to a shooter. Too often it seemed like the All-Star forward was trying to draw fouls on minimal contact.

He recognizes the matchup advantages he has, which is good. But he wasn’t attacking them the right way, in the way that we’ve grown accustomed to. When the shot wasn’t there, he still tried to take it instead of looking for open teammates. He isolated when the isolation wasn’t beneficial.

Draymond Green plays with a chip on his shoulder. A huge one, actually. He’s been overlooked and under appreciated throughout his professional career. He has been “too” something to succeed in the NBA in the eyes of many. He’s used that criticism to propel himself to greatness, earning his first All-Star selection and becoming the best power forward in the game as a revolutionary figure.

He internalizes the hate, lets it fuel him, and lets his play do the talking. Then he does some talking too. This Thunder/Warriors series is built on star power. Curry, Durant, and Russell Westbrook are consensus Top-5 players in the NBA right now. Green, being the fierce competitor he is, wants to be up there with those guys. It could be why in Game 1 he tried so hard to take over, trying to impose his will on the game in uncharacteristic fashion.

Green is a spectacular player when he plays his own game instead of worrying about everything else. He is effective because his skill set is different than anything we’ve seen in the NBA before. His strength lies in his playmaking ability, not in his raw scoring. He’s elite at doing the little things, the small plays that win basketball games. He needs to let the game come to him, instead of trying to do too much.

It’s likely that he’ll get back on track in Game 2. He knows what he means to the team and the stakes are sky high. For him, less is more, especially against a team like the Thunder.