As the Golden State Warriors stepped into their matchup against the San Antonio Spurs in their third-last game of the regular season, they knew they could not underestimate the undermanned Spurs as they pursue a top six spot in the standings.
The Spurs, who are 32-47 on the season, have nothing to play for at this point, but they are clearly looking to play spoiler for the Warriors as they attempt to earn a playoff berth in the tightly-packed Western Conference.
Draymond Green, as proof of the team's understanding of this fact, played a stellar eight minutes to start the game, quickly building up his case for another Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Draymond Green builds up DPOY resume in under a quarter
Before the matchup against the Spurs, Green was awarded with the NBA's Defensive Player of the Month Award, fueling the speculation that has recently surrounded him concerning his candidacy for his second DPOY.
Green, who is averaging 1.4 steals and one block this season, does not necessarily have the traditional stats that make up a case for such a prestigious award. Yet with Victor Wembanyama having missed the latter half of the season with a blood clot in his shoulder, the award is suddenly open for any number of candidates to shock the league.
Green has anchored an excellent Warrior defense throughout the entirety of the season. With trade deadline acquisition Jimmy Butler at his side, Golden State has posted a 109.4 defensive rating over their past 10 games -- a top-five figure in the NBA during that span.
Now, in just the first quarter of tonight's game against the Spurs, Green posted four defensive rebounds, five assists, and one steal, leading the Warriors out to 32-23 lead to start the game before the Spurs mounted a second-quarter fightback.
Given Green's history with the award, it is likely that he is motivated to prove his case over the team's last stretch of games. Despite his decade-plus of defensive dominance, Green has only ever won one DPOY Award in 2016-17, and is well-documented as feeling as though he has been snubbed for the award in multiple other seasons.
Despite the presence of solid defenders on the Warriors' roster, such as Butler and Moses Moody, Green is undeniably the anchor of the defense -- a fact that is on full display tonight and will help his case immensely.
While other candidates such as Evan Mobley and Dyson Daniels might have more impressive defensive statistics than Green, neither are playing as meaningful and as intense basketball as Green has demonstrated in recent times.