FanPost

Spartans in the NBA Preview: Day-Day

Previous: J-Rich & Z-Bo, Alan Anderson & Shannon Brown

When the 2012 NBA Draft rolled around, MSU was in a bit of a drought in terms of putting guys in the League. Despite continued program success - multiple B1G titles and Final Fours - no post-2006 MSU player had made an NBA roster. That dry spell was ended by Draymond Green, a relatively unheralded recruit who transformed himself from a freshman that averaged 3.3 points a game into one of the all-time MSU greats, a Big Ten Player of the Year, and consensus All-American as a senior. He left as MSU's all-time leading rebounder, a 1,500 point scorer, one of 3 players to ever record multiple triple-doubles in the NCAA Tournament (with Magic and Oscar Robertson), and my leading candidate for the next jersey to hang in the Breslin rafters. Oh, and he also picked up the assist on a play near and dear to my own heart, and one that you may remember as well.

Since he can't really be lumped with the other twosomes of MSU guys in the NBA, it seems appropriate for a one-of-a-kind player like Day-Day to get his own preview.

Draymond Green

(graduated in 2012)

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Current Team: Golden State Warriors

Years in the League: 2

Other Teams He's Played For: n/a

2012 Draft Recap: Before we get to what he's done during his first 2 years with Golden State, I would be remiss to not take a quick look back at this particular draft. Heading into it, many believed Green would be taken somewhere toward the back half of the first round. However, he had the dreaded "tweener" label:

''I hear I could go anywhere from 20 to 30,'' he said. ''But you never know, so I'm going to control what I can control and that's to be ready for any and every opportunity I get to show what I can do.'' Green, the lone senior on The Associated Press' All-America team last season, might be overlooked by teams early in the first round because some scouts don't think he's big enough to play power forward or agile enough to be a small forward.

Sure enough, as the draft unfolded, NBA GMs did what they do best on draft night: take unproven guys with "upside" (but who who fit the mold of a certain position) and pass on proven winners who don't have a "natural" position. Here are the actual players taken with picks 22-30:

  • 22: Boston - Fab Melo (7-0 C) - 6 career games played, 7 career points, currently playing in Brazil
  • 23: Atlanta - John Jenkins (6-4 SG) - appeared in 13 games last year, no clear role with ATL
  • 24: Cleveland - Jared Cunningham (6-5 SG) - already been on 3 teams in 2 years, 21 total games played, 15th man on Clippers roster this year
  • 25: Memphis - Tony Wroten (6-6 PG/SG) - traded by Grizz for 2nd round pick, shot 21.3% on 3s last year for Philly
  • 26: Indiana - Miles Plumlee (7-0 PF/C) - traded to Phoenix, now a starter
  • 27: Miami - Arnett Moultrie (6-11 PF) - 3.6 ppg over 2 years, 3 marijuana violations, politely called "one of the most unspectacular players ever to wear a Sixers uniform," and inspired this hilarious headline.
  • 28: OKC - Perry Jones (6-11 SF/PF) - 3 ppg over 2 years, not a regular part of OKC rotation
  • 29: Chicago - Marquis Teague (6-2 PG) - 2.3 ppg over 2 years, traded by Bulls for something called Tornike Shengelia, just traded again by Brooklyn to Philly for a dude named Casper Ware
  • 30: Golden State - Festus Ezeli (6-11 C) - 2.4 ppg as rookie, missed all of last year due to injury

I thought it might be bad before I looked back at the actual picks, but that is just ... wow. This was also the draft in which Meyers Leonard, the 7-footer from our B1G brethren Illinois, was a lottery pick. So, yeah. Fun fact: of the entire 2012 draft class, only Damian Lillard (6th pick, Rookie of the Year, All Star) has played in more games than Draymond. But if you count the postseason, Draymond has played in the most games of all draftees (and that includes his teammate and 2012 lottery pick Harrison Barnes).

But Golden State, who went with Ezeli instead of Green with the 30th pick, didn't make the same mistake when they came back up with the 35th pick, earning immediate approval from Dub Nation.

Career Summary: Green started playing right from Day 1 (he appeared in 79 games as a rookie), and it didn't take long for him to regularly earn double-digit minutes. While his offensive game wasn't quite there yet (ok, it was historically awful - he shot 20% from deep and 33% overall), the fact that he continued to be part of the playing rotation speaks to his other contributions, especially defensively. And he did manage to make this game-winner against the Heat. For MSU fans who followed Green for 4 years, see if this recap of his rookie year sounds at all familiar:

What apparently made an impression on the Warriors' staff - as described over and over and over again this past season, both by the journalists familiar with him from college and those familiarizing themselves with him as a pro - was that Green has all the intangibles to help a team interested in playing winning basketball.

During the regular season, he averaged 13.4 minutes, 2.9 points, and 3.3 rebounds. But he really started to shine in the 2013 Playoffs, as those numbers went up to 18.6 minutes, 5.8 points, and 4.3 rebounds. He scored in double digits 3 times in their 12 playoff games, after only doing so once in 79 regular season games. In the series-clinching win against Denver, he posted his first career double-double with 16 and 10.

That progression continued into his 2nd year. He appeared in all 82 regular season games and all 7 games of a fantastic playoff series with the Clippers, recording double-digit minutes in all but 4 games. He also started 12 games in the regular season and 4 in the playoffs. His increased playing time (nearly 22 minutes per game) led to increased production. In the regular season, he averaged 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game (in classic stat-stuffer fashion). He was 2nd on the Warriors in both blocks and steals, despite playing the 6th-most minutes. His 3P% improved to be just average, at 33.3%, while his overall FG% increased to a still-pedestrian 40.7%.

But like it did his rookie year, his production took another leap in the playoffs. In 7 games, he averaged over 32 minutes, 11.9 points, 8.3 points, 2.9 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. Here's a fantastic breakdown of his defensive contributions in their Game 4 win.

During his 2nd year, while his offensive game still showed some rough edges, his defense was great, and people have started noticing:

At a glance, Green’s predicted PPP reductions of 0.09 and 0.10 may not jump off the page, but in fact these are big-time defensive numbers. A team full of players with similar defensive impacts as Green would certainly rank at or near the very top in the NBA, regardless of the year. In fact, it should come as no surprise that after ranking no higher than 26th in the previous four years, the Warriors made the jump to the 14th-ranked defense a season ago, non-coincidentally Green’s first with the team. Clearly, Green is a serious defensive weapon.

And as is frequently the case with Draymond, stats simply don't tell the full story. This from a Warriors blogger who attended the team's open practice recently:

While Steph is the crowd favorite, it almost looks like Draymond is the social center of the team. He looked like he was making rounds at a wedding reception, going from group to group during warm-ups and chatting everyone up.

It's safe to say he's a fan favorite over in Dub Nation. He's got his own bobblehead night this year. They really don't like the thought that they might lose him after this year (he'll be a restricted free agent, and Golden State is expected to give Klay Thompson a max deal). And they have high hopes for him this year:

Breakout player:

I've never shook Draymond Green's hands. One gets the feeling that if that were to ever happen, under any circumstances, I'd have a bit of trouble holding the steering wheel on my drive home. Green doesn't have hands so much as enormously strong and quick bear claws.

#SpartansWill Fight Blake Griffin: As we saw with Z-Bo, Day-Day has also taken to physically engaging the Griffin Force (the Warriors-Clippers rivalry right now is sneaky good - lots of bad blood).

Outlook for This Year: Golden State, when healthy, is a legitimate contender in a loaded Western Conference. Even if you don't typically watch the NBA, try to tune into a Warriors home game at some point this year, even if it's just to see Draymond. They have phenomenal fans, and Steph Curry is one of the most exciting players alive. Give it a chance. Draymond is going to be a key piece again, probably not a starter, somewhere in the range of 25 minutes per game, and will be called on as a defensive stopper/glue guy.

Yup, it's still true:

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Up Next: The Rookies (Adreian Payne and Gary Harris)

This is a FanPost, written by a member of the TOC community. It does not represent the official positions of The Only Colors, Inc.--largely because we have no official positions.