One of the more stunning Warriors playoff losses in the three-season Kevin Durant era came in the first round in 2019. They were facing the eighth-seeded Clippers before they employed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Warriors had a Game 5 closeout opportunity at Oracle Arena, but failed. Those Clippers, without an All-Star, put up 129 points to drag the series back to Los Angeles for a Game 6.
Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell combined for 57 points off the bench. That pick-and-roll combination forced the Warriors into some difficult rotational choices. Williams and Harrell were better able to thrive because, in the middle of the series, Doc Rivers benched his centers and went with smaller lineups that spread the floor around those two.
That’s what made JaMychal Green such a necessary component of the Clippers’ planned attack. Green, a 6-foot-8 power forward who can rebound decently and guard multiple positions, made 12 of his 23 attempted 3s in that series. In the Game 5 stunner, he made three big ones and finished with 15 points.
That’s become relevant again with the news that dropped Tuesday. As first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Warriors intend to sign Green once he completes his impending buyout with the Thunder, a veteran-minimum bargain to bolster the back end of their rotation. Green has had fans within the Warriors’ front office, locker room and coaching staff for years. Much of that affection spawned during the 2019 first-round series, when he repeatedly burned a collapsing scheme.
Let’s stick with the three 3s he made in that Game 5 road win.
Here is the first. Watch Kevon Looney toward the top of the screen. The Clippers didn’t have Ivica Zubac on the floor, so Looney was forced to guard Green. Looney tiptoed into the paint and pulled over a step farther when Williams drove from the left wing. That was his biggest concern, but it left Green open for a corner 3, which he hit.
Green’s second 3 came in the third quarter. Steph Curry switched onto Green after a screen. He bulldozed Curry into the post and forced Andrew Bogut to hurry over and switch up the matchup.
Since it was Bogut and not Curry, Green abandoned the post-up and pivoted into a pick-and-pop action with Williams, which freed Green briefly for a shot on the left wing. Green showed patience and on-the-move accuracy with a pump fake and sidestep to avoid the Durant closeout.
Here’s the third 3. This was exactly the point of a stretch big man next to a feared high-usage scorer. Draymond Green had enough of Williams ripping up the Warriors’ defense, so he committed to showing Williams an extra body in the paint. Draymond got completely detached from JaMychal in an effort to stack Williams’ side of the floor. JaMychal floated to the left wing, Williams found him, and he buried another huge shot as a helpless Draymond couldn’t recover in time.
When the Warriors remade their roster last summer, they prioritized extra shooting in the frontcourt. They came to the realization that in 2021 — despite the Curry boost — you couldn’t persistently handcuff an offense with two non-shooters on the floor at nearly all times. They have and will continue to test those limits with Draymond and Looney in the starting lineup. But the addition of Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica gave Steve Kerr a pair of extra frontcourt shooters, varying the lineup combinations he could use.
Bjelica had bright moments. Porter was a critical addition, vital during the playoff run. Against the Grizzlies, who pressed up on the ball and packed the paint with Steven Adams and Jaren Jackson Jr. roaming off their assignments, Porter broke open the series with his floor-spacing presence. He made 7 of 11 from 3 in the Game 3 and Game 4 wins. The Warriors were a plus-45 with him on the floor in that series, and a minus-41 with him off it.
But Porter left for a bigger payday in Toronto, and Bjelica has returned to the familiarity of…
Read More: What does JaMychal Green bring to the Warriors as a stretch big off the bench?