Since November 21, 2008 and the end of the 2014 regular season, Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee had started all but two of the games he played for the Warriors and his previous team, the New York Knicks — a tenure spanning nearly six years.
The two that he did not start were from last year, when he came back after missing two games with the flu, and another time due to returning from a hamstring irritation.
This year he has been hampered with a hamstring strain and Draymond Green seized the opportunity in Lee’s absence, starting every game except four due to rest or injury en route to a franchise-record 67 wins. Lee has had to accept his role off the bench, often times third on the depth chart behind not only Green, but also sharp-shooting Marreese Speights.
But Speights went down in Game 3 with a left calf strain and Lee is now back, providing productive minutes off the bench in Games 4 and 5, both critical victories for the Warriors.
In Game 4, Lee played 15 minutes, scored 5 points, and did the little things in the game-shaping first half:
David Lee was a revelation on both ends, tapping loose rebounds to teammates.
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Bogut made a mental errors as D.Lee continued his great play, blocking a Vince Carter drive, but Bogut sent the outlet into Conley’s hands and Randolph ended up with an and-one on a re-post against Lee.
In Game 5, Lee played 17 minutes, scored 6 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and sparkled in the 4th quarter:
Beno Udrih got a corner three to go out of the timeout, but the Warriors went on another mini-run, as Lee got another layup on a cut, this time assisted by Iguodala.
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Shaun Livingston took Udrih to the baseline and drained a stop-and-pop, then stole a bad entry pass from Carter to Gasol, led the break, found D.Lee on the trail, who then made a touch pass to Iguodala streaking on the right side for a two-handed jam.
In fact, as of this writing, in a sign that the Warriors’ bench is greatly out-playing that of the Grizzlies’, Lee is leading the team in offensive rating during this series and is fourth in +/-.
Lee has been extremely unselfish and his personality has not changed, as we saw in the locker room after Game 5, when he joked about head coach Steve Kerr‘s self-effacing quip of being a “dumb coach” for not playing Lee more earlier in the season in preparation for potential playoff contributions…
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Lee has become the consummate team player, as described in detail in the following recent reports:
- Warriors’ David Lee helped franchise, young lives on way to bench, by Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle
- David Lee didn’t believe Stephen Curry, but now they’re lifting Warriors together, by Jimmy Spencer, The Sporting News
- Forgotten All-Star Lee comes through for Warriors, by Dieter Kurtenbach, KNBR
- As Stephen Curry predicted, David Lee gets his chance, by Carl Steward, Bay Area News Group
As Steward wrote, Green appreciates Lee’s efforts on defense, even against bigger Memphis stars:
“My whole focus is going in there and bringing energy,” he said. “Everything else just kind of takes care of itself. The last thing I’m worried about right now is scoring. I think that’s just going to naturally happen through the course of the offense. When I get in there, I want our team to have made a surge when I finally check out of the game.”
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Much maligned for his defense over the years, Lee did more than hold his own against the bigger Gasol and also against his old New York Knicks teammate, Randolph. More than one person noticed.
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“Gasol made a couple of tough shots over him, but you have to live with that,” said Draymond Green, the man who took Lee’s starting job. “He was phenomenal on the defensive end, which is more important than anything against these guys.”
In Spencer’s report, veteran Shaun Livingston gave Lee the ultimate hat tip:
It’s not all gushy feel-good stuff. Lee is necessary for Golden State’s success, allowing the Warriors to stay with a relatively small lineup that’s worked against the Grizzlies and is harder to pull off with backup center Festus Ezeli.
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After falling behind 2-1 in the series, Golden State’s offense, believe it or not considering the record pace and shooting percentages established in the 67-win regular season, looked zapped of offensive options outside of Curry and Klay Thompson.
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With Draymond Green and the bench out of scoring rhythm, Lee suddenly provided an extra source of movement and extra energy on the offensive glass. Even defensively, never something mentioned on Lee’s resume, he’s provided relief and cleared rebounds.
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“He’s probably had to sacrifice the most on this team,” said Warriors backup guard Shaun Livingston. “With his role this year, the way he’s come out the last two games and been ready with his energy guarding the big guys, we need it. When Bogut or Draymond goes down, we need those bigs. … D-Lee has been great; his hustle, his energy, making plays, making reads in the pick-and-roll, that’s where he excels.
Kurtenbach drew a parallel to another Bay Area player:
A highly paid, but underperforming Bay Area athlete coming through when the team needs him most? I can’t help but think back to Game 5 of the 2012 NLCS, or Game 1 of the 2012 World Series when Barry Zito pitched gems to lead the Giants to victory.
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Lee hasn’t sinned in the ways that Zito did with the Giants — and it’s better to be forgotten than maligned — but there’s a parallel, no?
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And who knows, this parallel might end the same way.
In Simmons’ story, Lee suggests that he won’t be back with the Warriors next season, which is, quite frankly, a logical deduction based on the Warriors’ present salary cap structure and the need to match any offer for Green, who becomes a restricted free agent this summer, Lee’s $15 million annual salary, and Lee’s desire and ability to contribute more as a regular player [the article is worth the entire read]:
He knows the Warriors talked about dealing him to Minnesota last summer and had conversations about a trade-deadline deal to Utah this season.
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“I’m glad we’re doing this,” Lee said during a walk around the perfectly manicured St. Jude campus. “In a month or six weeks, you’ll be able to see me only in a visiting locker room or somewhere on one of your road trips.”
But Lee has a special dedication to St. Jude’s and keeps things in perspective:
“This teaches you what real struggle and courage looks like,” Lee said. “You see kids going through things that we could never imagine with a smile on their faces. When I go there, I’m overwhelmed with the feeling that things are going on at that place and that they’re the right things.”
Lee still has a strong following of supporters in #DubNation [NSFW!]:
After Game 5, Lee continued to keep things in perspective, even from a game strategy point of view.
“As bigs, a lot of our responsibility offensively is to set big screens,” Lee told reporters by his locker. When they hit some threes early, it’s going to make our bigs open, rolling, later in the game. It benefits us to do our part.”
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