OAKLAND -– With the eyes of the world upon him, Draymond Green took the court on Christmas Day and let his actions do his bidding.
Green longs to be selected to the Western Conference All-Star team, and the Warriors forward is playing well enough to deserve a spot. His work Friday in an 89-83 win over the Cavaliers – a rematch of the NBA Finals – was profoundly persuasive.
In addition to providing his usual turbo-charged energy boost, Green went tangible, posting team-highs in points (22) and rebounds (15), while tying Stephen Curry for a team-high in assists with seven.
“You could see it,” interim coach Luke Walton said. “He was looking forward to today.”
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Whereas Green’s two free throws with 8.2 seconds left punctuated the final margin, his spectacular first quarter –- 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots -– immediately put his stamp on the game.
“He gets up for these kinds of games,” Curry said of Green. “He made a couple shots early that got him going and defensively he’s stepping up to the challenge, whether he’s off the ball, rebounding or matching up with a lot of different guys out there on the floor. He did a great job of impacting the game every time he was out there.”
Green entered into the game averaging 14.3 points (third on the team), 8.8 rebounds (first) and 7.1 assists (first). He is 14th in the league in blocked shots -– and, at 6-foot-7 in shoes, is the only person among the top 30 who is under 6-8.
And yet his most impressive play on Friday may have been one that didn’t reach the stat sheet. Cavs star LeBron James was charging at the rim before going airborne and was met by Green, who blocked the shot and grabbed it in the air.
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Official Scott Foster whistled a foul, sending James to the line.
“I’m kind of mad at Scott for calling that foul,” Green said in jest, “because I would have been on the highlights with that if he didn’t call it. It may still make the highlight reel. We’ll see.”
Whether it does or does not, Green supplied plenty of evidence that he should be among the forwards selected for the game on Feb. 14 in Toronto. In the first voting returns, issued Friday, Green ranked fourth among Western Conference frontcourt players, behind Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin.
Bryant is a Hall of Famer in waiting. Durant is a former MVP. Griffin is a perennial All-Star. Green is a fellow whose game usually transcends statistics.
“The stats show it tonight,” Curry said. “Sometimes they don’t quite show the depth of what he’s able to do. But tonight they did.”
