Getty Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green reacts during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It may have taken them a full month to get there, but the Golden State Warriors are officially a winning basketball team once again. In their Sunday victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Steph Curry and Co. shot 57.5% from the floor, dropped 20 three-point bombs and lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 137 points.
With the W, the Dubs extended their season-long win streak to three games and have now taken eight of their last 11 contests. As a result, they’re finally back over the .500 mark at 11-10 on the campaign.
Although it was Curry who paced a balanced scoring attack with 25, big man Draymond Green may have been as responsible as anyone for the favorable result.
Over 33 minutes of play, Green scored 19 points of his own while dishing out a game-high 11 assists (with ZERO turnovers) and making his presence known defensively with two blocked shots. Green’s impact was such that one of his co-stars, Klay Thompson, was moved to preach about the baller’s varied talents after the contest.
Klay Gives Draymond His Just Due
Klay calls Draymond “one of the most unique players” he has ever seen 🤝
During an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Postgame Live crew, Thompson was asked what kind of credit he would give to Green for the Dubs’ recent turnaround. He had no qualms about doling it out in droves.
“Well, Draymond is one of the most versatile players I’ve ever played with. He can play any position, he can guard any position. He’s probably the smartest player I’ve ever played with as far as his ability to read the game. And he’s like a point guard for us out there. When me and Steph, [Jordan Poole] and Andrew [Wiggins] can get off the ball, Draymond initiates the offense… I mean, he’s one of the most unique players I’ve ever seen.
“You can say whatever about his numbers but, man… he’s a winner. At every level he’s won, so Dub Nation should be very grateful to have a player like Draymond Green.”
While it’s true that he hasn’t been a consistent double-digit scorer for several seasons now — and he’s nowhere near the outside threat that his core cohorts are — there are definitely numbers that show Green’s worth.
His net rating of 10.0 is the top mark teamwide, and his D-rating of 109.6 is just 0.2 points/100 possessions behind No. 1 Donte DiVincenzo, who plays almost exclusively against backups. Moreover, three of the team’s top-four defensive lineups (minimum 15 minutes played together) are anchored by Green.
That includes the regular Steph-Klay-Dray-Wiggins-Kevon Looney starting five, which has held opponents to just 105.4 points/100 poss. across 231 total minutes.
Klay’s Hot Streak Continues
Thompson may never top his 41-point, 10-three effort against the Houston Rockets on November 20 this season. But that was hardly his only great game recently. Over the last 10ish days, he has looked an awful lot like the Splash Bro that helped the Warriors win four chips in the last eight years.
Against the Wolves, he scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting (including 5-of-8 from three-point range). And dating back to November 18, he’s averaging 24.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per outing with jaw-dropping shooting splits of 54-56-80.
Following his latest effort, though, he was more interested in hearing other people talk about his exploits than sounding off on them himself:
Klay lives for compliments from Mully and @DWRIGHTWAY1 😂