Draymond Green’s playmaking threat aiding Curry’s explosive scoring

Draymond Green is having an awful NBA Finals through four games, there’s no denying that.

His defense has been good but not spectacular, while his offensive limitations led Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr to benching him for crucial possessions down the stretch of game four.

The Golden State Warriors return home with the NBA Finals tied at 2-2 despite getting little to no production from All-Star Draymond Green.

However, Green’s one elite offensive aspect, or in this case the threat of it, is making things slightly easier for Stephen Curry. Much has been made of the Celtics’ drop coverage in pick-and-roll action, a tactic driving both positive and negative results.

The negative for Boston is that it’s allowing Curry to produce all-time historic performances – he’s averaging 34.3 points per game, including shooting a ridiculous 50% on pull-up threes off the dribble.

So, why are the Celtics allowing just enough airspace for Curry to carry his side in such dominant fashion? The primary reason is Robert Williams III and Boston’s desire for him to maintain his presence in the paint rather than be switched onto the perimeter.

Williams is proving a serious difference-maker around the rim, holding a defensive field goal percentage of 44.4%.

For context, the best rim protector in the league, Rudy Gobert, had a defensive field goal percentage of 50.7% during the regular season. But when he’s on the perimeter, well as we can see below, it’s a different story.

The second reason is Green’s elite decision-making and playmaking when going downhill in 4 v 3 scenarios after Curry is trapped. These situations allow Green to pinpoint open cutters, three-point shooters and Kevon Looney under the rim should they be sharing the court together.

This was demonstrated in a rare time when the Celtics trapped Curry late in game four. Green received the ball and drew Al Horford just enough before finding Looney who finished the layup before Horford could recover.

Green would have far greater offensive opportunities if the Celtics played this type of defense on Curry constantly.

Just as importantly, the likes of Looney, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and almost every other teammate would have more avenues to scoring than what’s being produced in the Celtics’ drop coverage.

Boston is nullifying Green’s one elite aspect on offense, and even if it’s not the primary reason, the trade-off is that they’re giving the best shooter of all time the chance to beat them.

That’s not to downplay Curry’s elite shotmaking, with the two-time MVP still making some incredibly difficult shots. The question now lies in whether the Celtics will change what they’re doing – take the ball out of Curry’s hands and into Green’s in a 4 v 3 situation.

If they do, Green needs to be ready to seize those opportunities if the Warriors are to win the NBA championship.