Draymond Green Using Playoffs to Shed Underrated Label for Good

Draymond Green made four shots in the Golden State Warriors' 97-87 Game 2 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.

Four.

And he absolutely dominated the contest.

Thanks partly to Green, partly to Klay Thompson's 14 fourth-quarter points and partly to a vice-like defense that decreased the Pelicans' scoring total in each successive period (from 28 to 24 to 19 to 16), the Dubs pulled out a nip-and-tuck win.

It was an ugly affair throughout, played in a style the overmatched Pelicans no doubt preferred. Given the talent disparity, it made perfect sense for New Orleans to muddle up the contest and then lean desperately on Anthony Davis to carry it home.

Unfortunately for the Pellies, Green loves few things more than ugly games and personal challenges from superstars.

You can start with the final line of 14 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, two made triples and one block, which was impressive in its own right. Since 1985-86, Green is only the sixth player to ever post those totals in a playoff game, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

By now, though, we should all know better than to judge Green on his basic numbers—even when they're that eye-opening.

Instead, it's better to measure his impact in screams—both the ones he elicits from delirious fans at Oracle Arena and the ones that erupt from his own chest after big plays.

Noise, it seems, has become a key theme in this series, which is probably just fine by Green.

Pelicans head coach Monty Williams told reporters before Game 2, via Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group: “I’m not so sure that the decibel level is legal there, and I’m serious. They’ve done studies on that. Being on the competition committee, there’s got to be something to that because it does get a little out of hand."

The Pelicans head coach was actually complimenting Warriors fans, but the postseason is no place for context or even-handedness. Predictably, the same Dubs supporters who'd shouted their team to a league-best 39-2 mark at home during the regular season took Williams' comments as a challenge.

Loud got louder.

And Green turned up the volume more than anyone else.

Stephen Curry, who scored 22 points on the night, drew out hushed awe and breathless anticipation whenever he teed up an open three. The gleeful yelps that followed his daring dimes were plenty piercing as well. But nobody summoned throat-rending howls from an amped-up crowd like Green did.

Golden State fans feed off Green's intensity, and he gave them plenty to consume on both ends.

He battled Davis gamely, controlling him far better than any other defender. One early tally from ESPN Stats & Info clearly laid out Green's effectiveness:

The final results, from ESPN Stats & Info and Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com, were borderline unbelievable:

In the fourth quarter, all six of Davis' points came at the foul line. Green held him without a field goal on five attempts in the decisive period.

If you really want to simplify the math here, it takes a superstar to cancel out a superstar. Nobody disputes Davis' status, and at this point, Green's doubters should be pretty much extinct as well. 

His coach leans on him relentlessly, per the Warriors' official Twitter feed:

His owner can't contain his excitement, per Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com:

His performances make hyperbole inevitable, per Zach Harper of CBS Sports:

In this particular series, Green's value is obvious. His three-point range pulls Davis away from the rim on defense, and his maniacal competitiveness (not to mention a whole lot of film study, good coaching and vice-grip hands) makes him one of the few defenders who can force Davis into uncomfortable shots.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Relying on a player's single-game plus-minus is always dangerous because you're combining a small sample and a whole lot of noise. But when you scan the box score and see Green's game-high plus-24 on Monday, it's pretty much impossible not to mutter, "Yeah, that seems about right."

He was that good.

And for most of the Warriors' remarkable campaign, he's been that good.

Assuming Golden State dispatches the Pelicans, Green's role won't be any less significant in the coming series. Whether he's Greco-Roman wrestling with Zach Randolph, using his length to bother LaMarcus Aldridge's jumper, prodding Blake Griffin or (respectfully) raining threes on Tim Duncan, he'll continue to be absolutely vital to the Warriors' title hopes.

With every dominant four-bucket night, Green's legend is growing.

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