MODA CENTER, PORTLAND, OR — The assignment for Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green — starting in the absence of David Lee who was out with a strained hamstring — against the Portland Trail Blazers‘ all-star LaMarcus Aldridge was going along rather swimmingly for Green in the first half of Golden State’s eventual 95-90 victory last night.
Aldridge had only scored 9 points up until then, just 2-for-8 from the field.
Little did Green — or anyone for that matter — know, but things would, ironically, start to go from “swimmingly” to “a fish out of water” after this play late in the second quarter:
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Whether or not that was an actual sign of things to come, the 6’11” Aldridge did eventually take advantage his four-inch height advantage on Green, making 8 of his next 12 shots, mostly fadeaways or from the perimeter, en route to a team-high 26 points, to go along with 13 rebounds.
This included a stretch in which Aldridge scored 10 straight points for the Blazers, the last of which gave Portland a 90-88 lead with 2:00 to go.
“He went crazy on me,” Green told reporters after the game, “Eventually he’s going to get going. They’re going to continue to give him the ball. He’s an all-star for a reason. Every shot he takes, it’s tough. Man, he hit some tough ones.
“That turnaround (of Aldridge’s), I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get that turnaround blocked. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get his jumpshot blocked.”
But despite at times being at the mercy of Aldridge, Green saved his best for last.
With 6.9 seconds to play and the Warriors up 91-90 after Klay Thompson‘s dramatic running jumper over Wes Matthews, Green anticipated a side-out inbounds to Aldridge and tapped the ball loose. Thompson retrieved the loose ball, got it to Stephen Curry, who got fouled and put the first nail in the coffin by draining both free throws to make the score 93-90.
“I knew,” Green told LetsGoWarriors in the locker room after the game, “they were going to go to him once he stepped out there. That was really at my advantage.”
Green, who has a 7’1.25″ wingspan, said he gambled a little bit on the play.
“I’m a little bit quicker than him, so I knew if I didn’t get it, I could still get in front of him. I was able to get a hand on it and Klay came up with the steal,” explained Green.
The NBA would later change the steal, correctly, from Thompson to Green.
Per Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, head coach Steve Kerr credited Green’s defense first and foremost, after the game:
…Kerr cut in and reminded the reporters about Draymond Green before the interview session really could get churning.
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“The guy I have to mention before you even ask is Draymond,” the Warriors’ head coach said. “He’s giving up (four) inches to LaMarcus Aldridge, who is incredible. I mean, the guy is such a great low-post player, and Draymond just played him all night and battled him.
“LaMarcus got his points, but Draymond made him earn every one of them.”
“That’s how I survive: my wingspan,” said Green, who’s had to come up big on defense against the likes of other elite NBA power forwards such as Blake Griffin, “I’m not the tallest, not the fastest, not the quickest, not the strongest, but my wingspan really helps me out a lot and it helped me out a bunch on that play.”
Asked to explain the origins of Green’s wingspan, Draymond’s mom Mary Babers-Green joked to LetsGoWarriors via Twitter, “Me!”
“Our family is tall,” Babers-Green added, “My dad and my granddad were 6’7″ and 6’8″ respectively.”
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