In the midst of his Golden State Warriors’ dismal 2023–24 season, Steve Kerr seems to be going all in on tiny once more. Draymond Green, a forward with the Dubs, has been moved to the starting center position. The Jonathan Kuminga- WiggAndrewins combination for Golden State appears to have improved as a result of this choice, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Together, Kuminga, Wiggins, and Green are recording a plus-70 over 377 minutes.
The Warriors big man, who is 6’6″, tries to maintain his health while playing middle against bigger, taller traditional centers. For the past week, he has intermittent lower back ache. Slater relates that Green described the difficulties of the job.
“It’s definitely more taxing because at the five you are involved in every possession,” Green stated. “Fours don’t always crash [the boards] at the four. It might not be necessary to pack out every item you own.”
“You have to box out every play at the five,” stated Green. Every play, the fives are attempting to get the ball. Let’s call even anything that basic as 20 more box outs every game. That is communication. That is a conflict. Thus, it’s undoubtedly more demanding. However, I’m suited for it.”
“I’m capable of it. I’m suited for it,” Green declared with assurance. “I know we have fives who are more than capable of taking over and doing what we need them to do, so I don’t worry too much about it. I don’t give it any thought.”
His head coach seems to agree, as well, pointing out that Green can also play a little stretch four thanks to his recently found floor spacing abilities. 39% of the 34-year-old’s 2.4 triple tries each night are connecting. It’s the highest conversion rate he’s ever had and the highest since 2015–16, the year Green was an All-Star for the first time. As a result, along with 6’9″ big man Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kerr has been playing the least amount of minutes (69 across 16 games) that would eventually earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame. Slater wrote about this on March 21st. But according to Kerr, Green is more of a center these days than anything else.
“He’s best suited at the five in the modern game,” Kerr stated. “Everyone makes so many threes and spreads you out. However, we are spending a few minutes playing Draymond with Trayce. From a defensive standpoint, we like that. We appreciate that Draymond can space the floor and Trayce can be the lob guy.”
Golden State is now only two games ahead of the Houston Rockets, who are ranked 11th in the NBA (34–35) this season with a 36–33 record. In order to guarantee the tenth seed and a play-in spot in the Western Conference, it will need to keep its greatest defender, Green, healthy. The eight-time All-Defensive big man would have likely been headed for his ninth appearance of this kind this season, but he has already missed an absurd amount of games due to injuries and suspensions.
