Golden State Warriors: Evaluating Draymond Green’s offensive woes

Draymond Green has always been a reliable option on offense for the Golden State Warriors, but so far this season, this hasn’t been the case.

The Golden State Warriors are usually able to look towards Draymond Green for a few timely buckets. Green has shown to be a reliable shooter from beyond the arc and his playmaking makes him a threat to drive into the paint. However, Green has been far from an offensive threat this season.

For the past four seasons, Green averaged a combined total of 11.8 points per game on 33.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 45.3 percent shooting overall. This season, Green is averaging just 6.3 points on 20.6 percent shooting from deep and 42.3 percent from the field.

This is the lowest scoring mark that Green has had since the 2013-14 season when he played only 21.9 minutes per game. This is the first time Green has averaged under 10 points per game in nearly five years. He is also averaging a career-high 3.4 turnovers a night.

What is causing Draymond to struggle so much on offense? He has never been an elite 3-point shooter, but he could at least knock them down before. Now, opposing defenses are daring Dray to pull a 3-pointer yet he continues to miss them.

Well, his ability to drive to the paint hasn’t been the problem. In fact, Green is shooting a much higher percentage on drives this season as compared to last season. Green is connecting on 76.5 percent of all of his drives, whereas last season, Green finished only 39.1 percent of these plays.

Where Green is struggling the most is catch-and-shoot opportunities. Dray is knocking down only 22.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot looks, which is more than 10 percent lower than his last season statistics.

This dip in his shooting has had an obvious impact on his overall game. The Warriors are second in the league in terms of catch-and-shoot field goals, meaning this is a shot that Green must be able to make in order for him to be effective.

His inability to knock down these shots is the clear reason for his overall struggle on the offensive end. Luckily, Green is massively talented at other aspects of the game, such as playmaking and defense. However, the team as a whole would benefit if Dray can break out of this shooting slump.