Despite the Golden State Warriors 117-114 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night, the game's major headline undoubtedly came in the form of an injury to superstar Stephen Curry during the third-quarter.
Curry's hard fall was later revealed to be a minor pelvic contusion, with the 2x MVP now expected to re-join the team at some point on a six-game road trip that begins Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks.
One thing that may have gone unnoticed in the course of that harrowing game was Draymond Green's performance, with the veteran forward a major factor in Golden State's ability to pull out a clutch win against a largely inferior team.
Green excelled on both ends of the floor, posting 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in the three-point win. In order for the Warriors to endure the absence of Curry, Green will need to continue both quarterbacking the team's defense, and contributing consistently on offense.
Draymond Green could be Warriors' X-Factor in Curry's absence
In the course of his dynamic offensive night against the Raptors, Green took a mind-boggling 14 three-point attempts, making five of them and showcasing a rarely-used tool in his skillset.
A career 32% 3-point shooter, Green certainly isn't known for his prominence beyond the arc. This is especially the case when Curry is in the lineup, with defenses often sagging off Green and daring him to shoot from deep.
Moreover, Green has the capability to drive to the rim and make shots through contact. While his role with the team is not, and never has been about his own scoring, 25 games this season with at least 10 points shows that Green can be a major offensive presence at times.
His defensive presence has always been undeniable. Green has a 109.1 defensive rating this season, is averaging 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, and is now in contention for another Defensive Player of the Year award.
However, having played together for the entirety of his 13-season NBA career, Green's game can tend to orbit around Curry, using his defense and ball-movement acumen to supplement the lethal shooting of the 2x MVP and previously Klay Thompson.
As the star pair have aged, Green has tended to either shrink from the spotlight when Curry is absent, or simply sit as well in leaving the team without their foundational duo. As the Warriors attempt to cling on to the sixth seed and the last playoff berth, they will need Green to continue to revamp his game and pair with Jimmy Butler in leading the team through this gauntlet.