The Golden State Warriors often look lost without Stephen Curry. Because...duh. He is a generational talent and the driver of the NBA dynasty they once created. Having said that, it's obvious no one has been impacted by the two-time MVP's absence (a knee injury has sidelined him for all of February so far) more than his righthand man, Draymond Green.
At this point, it feels abundantly clear that Curry's floor presence alone dictates whether Green is incredibly helpful or glaringly harmful for Golden State. He is the sidekick without a superhero to support, the ultimate setup man with no one to set up.
"I think more and more at this stage of [Green's] career, offensively it's becoming clear that he's tied to Steph," ESPN's Anthony Slater said on the Warriors Stock Report. "... You can't ignore that, particularly when Steph's not on the floor right now, they've just been performing better without Draymond."
The eye test and numbers tell the same story: Draymond's offensive value is entirely tied to Steph.
With Curry stuck on the sidelines, Green has become virtually unplayable on offense. In the month of February, Golden State's offense has an apocalyptic 98.7 offensive rating with Green and a blistering 120 mark without him. For the non-math majors in the audience, that's a loss of 21.3 points per 100 possessions.
Does the recent uptick from Al Horford play a part in that? Maybe, but not in a way that changes this discussion at all. Because it's far less about the success the Warriors have had with Green sitting than it is the space-killing and subsequent stagnation that happens when he's inside the lines.
This isn't some recent development, either. Curry's prolonged absence has just made it harder not to notice. For the season, Golden State has gone from pumping in an elite 120.6 points per 100 possessions (97th percentile, per CleaningTheGlass.com) with Curry and Green on the floor together to managing a meager 100.1 points per 100 possessions (third percentile) in Green's minutes sans Curry.
On the one hand, Green's ability to enhance the Warriors' best player is clearly important. Those dribble handoffs and high pick-and-rolls are essential gear-turners within this attack. On the other, this really highlights what Green can (and, more notably) cannot do without a historically great shooter and gravitational force alongside him.
What does this mean for the Dubs' future? Well, they really need Curry on the floor to make this work. Which, again...duh. But if the idea is ever to have Green be a part of the plan to keep things above water when Curry, who turns 38 in March, isn't available, then the plan is simply ignoring the reality of Green's limitations.