[Fredette About ItParticipant]

 Draymond has changed the game… for now anyways… It wasnt too long ago that every team tried to emulate the Spurs and their Twin Towers. 2 big 7footers playing high low and pounding it inside. Now it seems like everyone is hoping aboard the small ball train and trying to matchup with what the Warriors do. Right now every team trying to make a move has the Warriors in mind when adjusting their team (Spurs are still legit) but only problem is the Draymond effect.. A player who i see as a good matchup with his size gritiness and defense is Paul Milsap..

A couple of years ago teams stayed away from these guys, known as "tweeners".. players who dont have a position. Guys who got drafted high that fit into this category are like Micheal Beasley and Derrick Williams.. Positionless guys who couldnt stick with teams (Beasley being a headcase) Draymond brings something special to the table and thats heart.. He is a guy everyone should look up to being undersized and out to prove everyone wrong, not just a freak athlete. Getting drafted 35th overall.. passed by all teams (twice his own team. (Also drafted Barnes and Festus (hell of a draft for them btw)). 

My question is should teams try to matchup smallball with the Warriors.. or is the Twin Tower effect gone for now. 

I think contending teams should look to find guys who play both sides of the ball.. Sure everyone wants these guys its obvious but for example aside from Lebron the Cavs have offensive players (Kyrie, Love, JR) & defensive players (Shump, Thompson, Dellavadova, Varejao) so its pretty easy to gameplan for them.. 

Players that will make the difference are the gritt two way players the Demarre Carrolls, Paul Millsaps.. Jae Crowders.. players who check egos at the door and straight up ball.

https://youtu.be/dGL0B_UsJMM

[Andrew1984Participant]

 What makes Draymond Green so good is his combination of passing/vision and range, specifically in pick-and-roll, which perfectly complements Steph. 

When they run PNR, Steph has so revolutionized shooting off the dribble that you simply cannot single-cover him on ball screens. So you send two and leave Dray, but the problem with that is Dray now has the ball in a 4-on-3 and he is surgeon-like in picking apart the defense in that 4-on-3. When they cover down, he makes the shot. When they step up and contest, he finds the uncovered teammate. 

Watching their offense is like watching a high school game in which one team knows exactly how to break a full-court press, but the opposing coach is stubborn and keeps the press on, except for Golden State does it in the half-court, and they force you to do it because Steph is so too much of a threat to make shots off the dribble behind a ball screen!

 It’s pick-your-poison and there’s absolutely nothing anybody can do about it right now. 

 

 

[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

draft him?  If so, Jerry West is the greatest basketball mind in history.  What he’s done as a player and now as an executive, i’m sorry, he deserves to be the Logo.  He just understands basketball, he went from LA with Shaq and Kobe and created the current Memphis machine that never quite hit the lottery to now GSW, man is genius.  

I’d put Jerry West, Red Auerbach, John Wooden, and Phil Jackson as my greatest basketball minds, slightly over guys like Pat Riley and Michael Jordan and Kareem and Bill Russell.  

 

[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

draft him?  If so, Jerry West is the greatest basketball mind in history.  What he’s done as a player and now as an executive, i’m sorry, he deserves to be the Logo.  He just understands basketball, he went from LA with Shaq and Kobe and created the current Memphis machine that never quite hit the lottery to now GSW, man is genius.  

I’d put Jerry West, Red Auerbach, John Wooden, and Phil Jackson as my greatest basketball minds, slightly over guys like Pat Riley and Michael Jordan and Kareem and Bill Russell.  

 

[Andrew1984Participant]

 What makes Draymond Green so good is his combination of passing/vision and range, specifically in pick-and-roll, which perfectly complements Steph. 

When they run PNR, Steph has so revolutionized shooting off the dribble that you simply cannot single-cover him on ball screens. So you send two and leave Dray, but the problem with that is Dray now has the ball in a 4-on-3 and he is surgeon-like in picking apart the defense in that 4-on-3. When they cover down, he makes the shot. When they step up and contest, he finds the uncovered teammate. 

Watching their offense is like watching a high school game in which one team knows exactly how to break a full-court press, but the opposing coach is stubborn and keeps the press on, except for Golden State does it in the half-court, and they force you to do it because Steph is so too much of a threat to make shots off the dribble behind a ball screen!

 It’s pick-your-poison and there’s absolutely nothing anybody can do about it right now. 

 

 

[phila9012Participant]

It is interesting to see that draymond hasn’t changed one bit since that interview. He became what he said he was going to become. He literally did exactly what he said he was going to do. I think the important thing for a tweener is to recognize what they can do. Draymond seemed to know then exactly who he would become. Some of the guys like beasley and williams try to do too much or be the star. When if they both just focused on defense and hustling they would have been able to get the playing time to develop their other skills.

[phila9012Participant]

It is interesting to see that draymond hasn’t changed one bit since that interview. He became what he said he was going to become. He literally did exactly what he said he was going to do. I think the important thing for a tweener is to recognize what they can do. Draymond seemed to know then exactly who he would become. Some of the guys like beasley and williams try to do too much or be the star. When if they both just focused on defense and hustling they would have been able to get the playing time to develop their other skills.

[WinterSoldierParticipant]

 Draymond is good player but, if he did the exact same thing on teams like the Nuggets, Jazz or Hornets nobody would ever think twice about him. He works great for the Warriors because how much they stretch the floor but they are by far the best shooting team in the league. If he was on slow paced, poor outside shooting team he would struggle and certainly not be able to play the center position. 

[WinterSoldierParticipant]

 Draymond is good player but, if he did the exact same thing on teams like the Nuggets, Jazz or Hornets nobody would ever think twice about him. He works great for the Warriors because how much they stretch the floor but they are by far the best shooting team in the league. If he was on slow paced, poor outside shooting team he would struggle and certainly not be able to play the center position. 

[BleedGreen808Participant]

 What impresses me is his ability to defend bigger PFs and Cs effectively.  On opening night he shut down Davis and last night he limited Aldridge to 5pts and 3rebs on 2-9shooting.  

[ballislyfe25Participant]

He is one of the strongest players in the league and combining that with his low center of gravity, quickness, motor, and length make him a great post defender. If a player like Blake tries to face him up, he can stay in front of him and absorb the contact due to his build. Today’s centers/bigs, aside from a select few, cannot take advantage of the nearly six inches they have on Draymond.

[ballislyfe25Participant]

He is one of the strongest players in the league and combining that with his low center of gravity, quickness, motor, and length make him a great post defender. If a player like Blake tries to face him up, he can stay in front of him and absorb the contact due to his build. Today’s centers/bigs, aside from a select few, cannot take advantage of the nearly six inches they have on Draymond.

[BleedGreen808Participant]

 What impresses me is his ability to defend bigger PFs and Cs effectively.  On opening night he shut down Davis and last night he limited Aldridge to 5pts and 3rebs on 2-9shooting.  

[MatosParticipant]

 Draymond is light on his feet too which helps him get an extra step on defenders equally or bigger than he is.But yea, its classic pick and roll with these guys. Go under the pick and Steph splashes a three. Go over the pick and you’re either chasing him or defending a much bigger Green. At this point I can only see the Spurs as a team that can stop them. I just hope the Spurs dont have to play the Thunder in the playoffs first because I feel like OKC has their number. 

[MatosParticipant]

 Draymond is light on his feet too which helps him get an extra step on defenders equally or bigger than he is.But yea, its classic pick and roll with these guys. Go under the pick and Steph splashes a three. Go over the pick and you’re either chasing him or defending a much bigger Green. At this point I can only see the Spurs as a team that can stop them. I just hope the Spurs dont have to play the Thunder in the playoffs first because I feel like OKC has their number. 

[eyefortalentParticipant]

that maybe with the exception of Anthony Davis, I don’t think the Warriors would trade Green for any other power forward in the league. You have to consider him a top 20 player now.

[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

than Anthony Davis could do any day.  He’s a perfect fit….so tired of the Anthony Davis hype.  Dude is soft….yeah i said it….S.O.F.T.   wake me up when he makes the conference finals.   

[he_gets_bucketsParticipant]

 Wake me up when Draymond can make the Western Conference finals with the team Anthony Davis is on right now.

[negguaryParticipant]

cant name the playoffs with the team he has

[negguaryParticipant]

cant name the playoffs with the team he has

[SubZeroParticipant]

He made it last year with virtually the same team. I’m not sure what exactly is their issue this year (beside the injuries), but you can’t pin it all on Davis. He carried that team last year

[SubZeroParticipant]

He made it last year with virtually the same team. I’m not sure what exactly is their issue this year (beside the injuries), but you can’t pin it all on Davis. He carried that team last year

[he_gets_bucketsParticipant]

 Wake me up when Draymond can make the Western Conference finals with the team Anthony Davis is on right now.

[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

than Anthony Davis could do any day.  He’s a perfect fit….so tired of the Anthony Davis hype.  Dude is soft….yeah i said it….S.O.F.T.   wake me up when he makes the conference finals.   

[eyefortalentParticipant]

that maybe with the exception of Anthony Davis, I don’t think the Warriors would trade Green for any other power forward in the league. You have to consider him a top 20 player now.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Draymond is one of my five No Brainer picks for the Rio Team:

Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green.  Gotta have those five.  NO WEAKNESSES.  

Then my only LOCK for the team: LeBron James.  You can put him with any of those other five guys.  Either build around LeBron or bring him off the bench.

"Locks": Jimmy Butler (scorer and two way 2 guard), Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Klay Thompson (shooter, scorer, completes the Axis of Warriors).  

My last two in…

Sorry Paul George.  I KNOW you have a promise, but MY PROMISE is that you will be the alternate.

Let’s get three point guards, so we can have more Steph/Russ backcourts.

Chris Paul is my 11th pick.  Too good to leave off.

My LAST guy is now DeAndre Jordan.  Maybe not as good a rebounder as Andre Drummond but a better shot blocker and a better free throw shooter.  Even though DeAndre Jordan is an abysmal free throw shooter too.  I also like the CP3 to Jordan alley-oop dunks.  

You can play Jordan at center with pretty much anybody.  He has limited range, but makes 71% of the shots that he DOES take.  Great role player for this team.

My next five: James Harden, Andre Drummond, LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, and John Wall.

Draymond Green is probably in the PERFECT situation.  He is a great complement to perhaps the best volume shooting backcourts in basketball history.

He is the best all-around big man in the game.  

I can see him being the ’92 Magic of this year’s TEAM RIO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Draymond is one of my five No Brainer picks for the Rio Team:

Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green.  Gotta have those five.  NO WEAKNESSES.  

Then my only LOCK for the team: LeBron James.  You can put him with any of those other five guys.  Either build around LeBron or bring him off the bench.

"Locks": Jimmy Butler (scorer and two way 2 guard), Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Klay Thompson (shooter, scorer, completes the Axis of Warriors).  

My last two in…

Sorry Paul George.  I KNOW you have a promise, but MY PROMISE is that you will be the alternate.

Let’s get three point guards, so we can have more Steph/Russ backcourts.

Chris Paul is my 11th pick.  Too good to leave off.

My LAST guy is now DeAndre Jordan.  Maybe not as good a rebounder as Andre Drummond but a better shot blocker and a better free throw shooter.  Even though DeAndre Jordan is an abysmal free throw shooter too.  I also like the CP3 to Jordan alley-oop dunks.  

You can play Jordan at center with pretty much anybody.  He has limited range, but makes 71% of the shots that he DOES take.  Great role player for this team.

My next five: James Harden, Andre Drummond, LaMarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, and John Wall.

Draymond Green is probably in the PERFECT situation.  He is a great complement to perhaps the best volume shooting backcourts in basketball history.

He is the best all-around big man in the game.  

I can see him being the ’92 Magic of this year’s TEAM RIO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sewok15Participant]

The Sixers appear to be following some sort of 5 tower model we have yet to see. I mean theoretically with their defensive versatility at a few spots they could have a lineup of..

PG- #1 pick Ben Simmons

SG- Dario Saric

SF- Nerlens Noel

PF- Joel Embiid

C- Jahlil Okafor

I’d like to see these small ball teams guard that lineup. I mean Mozgov had 3 double-doubles against the Warriors in the finals and barely even played other games. You need to make the teams that go small pay inside but you also need to sprinkle in some three point shooting…which is something this theoretical Sixers lineup sorely lacks outside of Saric and Embiid each making one or two a game.

[Andrew1984Participant]

 The idea of Saric playing the two and Noel playing the three is nonsensical. 

This team would shoot 12 percent outside of the paint and got laughed off the floor.

 

[Andrew1984Participant]

 The idea of Saric playing the two and Noel playing the three is nonsensical. 

This team would shoot 12 percent outside of the paint and got laughed off the floor.

 

[gopack10Participant]

That lineup is comical at best.  Aside from Okafor, you have everyone else out of position.

For everything that Simmons is and what he has in versatility and court vision, he’s not a point guard.

 

 

[gopack10Participant]

That lineup is comical at best.  Aside from Okafor, you have everyone else out of position.

For everything that Simmons is and what he has in versatility and court vision, he’s not a point guard.

 

 

[Hype Machine]

Borderline worst post Ive seen on this site lol.

Meanwhile JJ Barea is planning on playing stretches at Power Forward in small ball lineups.

 

[Hype Machine]

Borderline worst post Ive seen on this site lol.

Meanwhile JJ Barea is planning on playing stretches at Power Forward in small ball lineups.

 

[ZachAttackParticipant]

 I’m just gonna assume that was a joke

[Sewok15Participant]

Obviously I was not serious that should actually be the Sixers lineup but if they get the top pick those will be their 5 best players. At a time when other teams are loading up on smaller versatile players the Sixers are stacking up guys that pretty much exclusively play the 4 and 5 spots. Simmons and Saric can play the three but will probably be best as fours.

With that being said Memphis did make the playoffs 5 years in a row in the West relying on two inside players. Gasol and Randolph have a little bit of range but don’t exactly stretch the defense. It is only this year when they started struggling that they went to a smaller lineup. They never really had a ton of outside shooting around them either. There are different ways to go about it but right now the Golden State model is the most popular for obvious reasons.

[Sewok15Participant]

Obviously I was not serious that should actually be the Sixers lineup but if they get the top pick those will be their 5 best players. At a time when other teams are loading up on smaller versatile players the Sixers are stacking up guys that pretty much exclusively play the 4 and 5 spots. Simmons and Saric can play the three but will probably be best as fours.

With that being said Memphis did make the playoffs 5 years in a row in the West relying on two inside players. Gasol and Randolph have a little bit of range but don’t exactly stretch the defense. It is only this year when they started struggling that they went to a smaller lineup. They never really had a ton of outside shooting around them either. There are different ways to go about it but right now the Golden State model is the most popular for obvious reasons.

[ZachAttackParticipant]

 I’m just gonna assume that was a joke

[Sewok15Participant]

The Sixers appear to be following some sort of 5 tower model we have yet to see. I mean theoretically with their defensive versatility at a few spots they could have a lineup of..

PG- #1 pick Ben Simmons

SG- Dario Saric

SF- Nerlens Noel

PF- Joel Embiid

C- Jahlil Okafor

I’d like to see these small ball teams guard that lineup. I mean Mozgov had 3 double-doubles against the Warriors in the finals and barely even played other games. You need to make the teams that go small pay inside but you also need to sprinkle in some three point shooting…which is something this theoretical Sixers lineup sorely lacks outside of Saric and Embiid each making one or two a game.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Don’t give Rick Carlisle any ideas, Hype!  lol

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Don’t give Rick Carlisle any ideas, Hype!  lol

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

Draymond is very good, and he’s helping change the league because he’s in the perfect place for his talents to be on display. His teammates and the system they play are perfect fits for him. Because the Warriors aren’t just very good…they’ve been great, other teams are bound to try and emulate them.

There was a guy very similar to him that played in the late 90s; Anthony Mason. He could play SF, PF and C, was a tough defender that could handle the ball, pass, rebound and score (he couldn’t shoot from deep like Green but it was a different league back then and many players didn’t). But while he received some individual accolades his teams while good, were never great, so the other teams in the league never really sought out the next Mason. 

 

 

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

Draymond is very good, and he’s helping change the league because he’s in the perfect place for his talents to be on display. His teammates and the system they play are perfect fits for him. Because the Warriors aren’t just very good…they’ve been great, other teams are bound to try and emulate them.

There was a guy very similar to him that played in the late 90s; Anthony Mason. He could play SF, PF and C, was a tough defender that could handle the ball, pass, rebound and score (he couldn’t shoot from deep like Green but it was a different league back then and many players didn’t). But while he received some individual accolades his teams while good, were never great, so the other teams in the league never really sought out the next Mason. 

 

 

[r377Participant]

It works because there are no good dominant offensive post players…. Kid centres of today can’t even hit an uncontested free throw, let alone hit one from in the post with a defender on him !!!

Small ball in the 90’s. How would Draymond Green guard Shaq, Ewing, Robinson, Hakeem, Alonzo, McHale, Barkley, Malone, Parish etc

[r377Participant]

It works because there are no good dominant offensive post players…. Kid centres of today can’t even hit an uncontested free throw, let alone hit one from in the post with a defender on him !!!

Small ball in the 90’s. How would Draymond Green guard Shaq, Ewing, Robinson, Hakeem, Alonzo, McHale, Barkley, Malone, Parish etc

[D7H7NParticipant]

Rules were different man.

And if you must need to know, Draymond wouldn’t have to do anything. Let the other team score 2 points with their post player. Give the ball to Curry, isolate, and let him do whatever he wants. Help defense is illegal so the other team has to play man-to-man or overextend with double team. 

[D7H7NParticipant]

Rules were different man.

And if you must need to know, Draymond wouldn’t have to do anything. Let the other team score 2 points with their post player. Give the ball to Curry, isolate, and let him do whatever he wants. Help defense is illegal so the other team has to play man-to-man or overextend with double team. 

[Hype Machine]

Anthony Mason was the original draymond.

 

 

[Hype Machine]

Anthony Mason was the original draymond.

 

 

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