Programming note: Watch the pregame edition of Warriors Outsiders on Wednesday night at 6, streaming live on the MyTeams app.
Draymond Green was terrific in the Warriors' Game 4 win over the Clippers on Sunday.
He registered 10 points, nine rebounds, five rebounds, two blocks and was a plus-nine in over 36 minutes.
But per usual, the basic box score doesn't tell the whole story when it comes to Draymond's impact. To fully understand his importance, you have to watch the game. And then you got to rewatch the game.
The 2017 Defensive Player of the Year is only 6'7" (and that's generous), but when he is fully focused and engaged, he's one of the best rim protectors in the NBA.
Just watch how many points he saved the Warriors in Game 4:
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Draymond Green sees that KD is out of position after lunging, so he leaves his man to cut Gallinari off and saves two points pic.twitter.com/3jk61cXZig— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 22, 2019
Draymond leaves his man to help and ends up just ripping the ball away from Montrezl Harrell as he tries to go up for a layup pic.twitter.com/A9WqlIsTYM— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 22, 2019
If Draymond doesn't leave his man to help, Montrezl Harrell would have had a wide open path to the basket. Instead, Harrell misses the tough layup because Draymond contests him at the rim pic.twitter.com/KJBBdnmI2r— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 22, 2019
Harrell averaged 22 points through the first three games of the series and was causing the Warriors a lot of problems. On Sunday, he scored just 10 points and was a minus-17.
You can thank Draymond for that.
Draymond slides and takes the charge on Harrell. Kevin Durant was pretty pumped pic.twitter.com/BpDg8Pg6Xe— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 22, 2019
But let's get back to the three-time All-Star protecting the rim:
Draymond meets the cutting Gallinari at the rim and blocks the layup pic.twitter.com/kuwRI8NfEp— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 22, 2019
For some reason, Draymond didn't get credit for a blocked shot here:
It looks like JaMychal Green is gonna get a layup off the postup, but Draymond leaves his man and blocks the shot from behind pic.twitter.com/tI2ZQxSB9e— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 22, 2019
Or here:
It needs to be repeated over and over and over again that lots of people thought Draymond Green was washed up pic.twitter.com/owB4ZbLIpw— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 21, 2019
And speaking of "washed up," the three-time NBA champion told Marcus Thompson of The Athletic after Game 3:
"If somebody think I'm washed and done at 29, they're stupid. So good for them for being an idiot. But it's OK. It's the time of year where I like to show what it's really about."
[REWIND: Why you shouldn't panic about Draymond, bet big on him instead]
Here's a couple more clips from Game 4:
Draymond leaves Beverley to help Curry on Gallinari, times his help perfectly and causes Gallinari to miss the driving layup attempt pic.twitter.com/LIV7bMpk9f— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 22, 2019
Draymond saves a layup here and forces Shamet to dribble the ball out of the paint. The Clippers end up turning the ball over pic.twitter.com/wbGmusHoCw— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) April 22, 2019
Draymond contested 19 shots, according to NBA.com's "hustle" stats. The next closest Warrior was Klay Thompson with 10.
Draymond was everywhere and it was a blast to watch.