“Draymond Green is the quarterback for this basketball team” – Jay Williams believes Green makes game easy for teammates as everything revolves around him
Draymond Green's leadership abilities were complimented by Jay Williams on Thursday’s episode of "NBA on ESPN."
Posted in the clip below is the conversation in which Williams said:
“Draymond Green is the quarterback for this basketball team.”
Jay Williams comments on Draymond Green's greatness
Is Draymond Green Golden State's "quarterback?"
Green is a three-time NBA champion and three-time All-Star, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. Known for his high basketball IQ and immense defensive ability, he was drafted 35th overall in 2012 by the Golden State Warriors. Draymond has garnered five All-Defensive team selections and led the league in steals in 2017.
Having won three NBA championships for Golden State (2015, 2017, 2018), Green has already etched his name in the team's history. Jay Williams, a former Chicago Bulls player and now a television NBA analyst, joined Sportscenter to talk about Green’s recent injury and what that means for his squad.
With klay-thompson' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>klay-thompson" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Klay Thompson and Steph Curry still lighting it up for Golden State, many fans are not too concerned about Green sitting for at least two more weeks with a back/calf soreness issue.
With his injury recognized and now receiving the needed therapy, having Green sidelined is not going to leave too big of a hole. A large reason stands to be simply due to Green’s immense basketball IQ.
Having “The Splash Brothers” back together is, of course, the driving force for the Warriors at the moment, but Green still has a great amount to offer even from the bench. He has notable experience in reporting and analyzing the NBA, is a three-time champion and has been with Steph and Klay for a long time. Needless to say, he knows how to win – and how to win with these guys.
Draymond Green's Best Blocks and Steals
Green’s output is obviously missed, but with all of his knowledge and high basketball IQ, he can still contribute to each game even from the sideline.
In having such showtime stars like “The Splash Brothers” Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson on the team, a majority of the focus is going to be on these two. It makes sense. Their shots dominate the highlight reels, and they have a great amount of fun together while doing it.
But there has always been another player who plays like an invisible glue between the entire team, and that player is Draymond Green.
Green has career averages of 8.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks may not seem totally amazing. Running averages like these may not stand out in exclamation, but when you understand the type of basketball he plays, it makes sense.
Draymond Green's Best Assists
Green has always focused on being a dominant defensive presence and filling in on the floor where he needs to. Rarely ever does he force plays that are not there, get a crazy amount of turnovers (only averages 2.2 per game in his career) or get tripped up by his opponents. Green notably plays cool and collected basketball, gathering everything that is happening on the court at all times.
He is known for seeing the things most miss and either patching areas that need patching or creating space in areas that need space. Green understands the play process insanely well – and always has.
Reasons like these are why Jay Williams made the comments he made. Williams, who played guard, understands that Green is “the quarterback,” meaning he sees everything happening on the play and constantly makes decisions to better the output on either end.
The Warriors (32-12) stand in second place in the Western Conference. Green is averaging 7.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game. With the current success of Golden State, fans will be excited to see their quarterback return.