The Golden State Warriors made an impressive 4-1 start to the season last month, but in hindsight that might not have been overly sustainable given the inflated shooting numbers of veteran forward Draymond Green.
The combination of Green, Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga was working because the forward trio were proving legitimate threats from beyond the arc, yet the Warriors should've known all along that it wasn't going to continue in the same manner.
Draymond Green is proving an offensive liability over recent games
Through his first 10 games of the season, Green shot 45% from 3-point range and 47.6% from the floor overall. History suggests that wasn't going to last, yet the brutal drop off over Green's last six games is proving incredibly problematic to a Golden State offense that now ranks 23rd on the season as they've fallen back to a .500 record.
During this period, Green has shot 29.3% from the floor and 23.3% from beyond the arc while actually increasing his field-goal attempts by around two per game. Nothing signified Green's failed offensive aggression like the two recent games against the San Antonio Spurs where he regularly went at Victor Wembanyama without success, having shot a combined 4-of-22 and 0-of-11 from 3-point range across those two meetings.
The 35-year-old's offense, and in particular his 3-point shooting, can come and go through different periods. He's usually been disrespected by opposing defenses from the perimeter over the years, yet the Warriors have still been able to build significant success despite this.
Why? Largely because Green's been an excellent playmaker thanks to his chemistry with 2x MVP Stephen Curry, while he's also led what is often one of the best defenses in the league. The issue with Green's shooting right now is that both his playmaking and defense isn't as consistently great as what it's been in the past.
The 4x All-Star is averaging 3.2 turnovers per game on the season and 3.7 in his last six games, well up on the 2.6 he averaged last season and the 2.3 on his career. Golden State have also fallen from having the number one defense in the league after last season's All-Star break, something Green will take personally and particularly after giving up 127 points in a shock loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
Green's offense is becoming a liability over recent games, but this shouldn't be a total surprise to the Warriors who now need to find a way of generating far more consistent scoring avenues rather than relying on their former Defensive Player of the Year to be hitting multiple jump-shots every game.