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Good write up and excellent observations.
Or maybe - who could he be? After last night, I saw a number of posts comparing Danny Green to Bruce Bowen. I wouldn't go that far after just one game. But there is one player who he resembles so much, that I think it's worth discussion - Anthony Parker. First, let me say that Anthony Parker is one of the players that I really wanted to see come to the Spurs. When he came back from Israel, he was one of the best (and probably the most under-rated) perimeter defenders in the league. He and T.J. Ford were largely responsible for getting the Raptors into the playoffs two years in a row. Then he started 81 games for the Cavs, the year they had the best record in the NBA. And at an average of about $3.5M per season, he's been one of the biggest bargains among veterans in the league for the last five seasons.
Physically, the two are almost identical. Both are listed at 6'6", 210 lbs., and both have reasonably long arms. Both were good defenders in college, and known for having a high basketball IQ. Both stayed in school for their senior years, and both were basically unwanted by the NBA teams that drafted them. Their first couple of years in the NBA look very much alike - almost nothing to talk about. Both finished up a season in the D-League. Both got told that they weren't good enough or athletic enough to make it in the NBA.
After getting no traction in the NBA, Parker went overseas. I got to see him play with Maccabi, and the more he was allowed to stay on the floor and "do his thing", the better he got. After just a few games, it was hard to believe that he had not been a starter in the NBA. He was a damned good defender, but he also had developed a very solid outside shot. Maybe he was a late bloomer, or maybe he is just one of those players who doesn't do anything flashy, and so goes unnoticed by most people. But he became a star (and a leader) when given the opportunity, and led Maccabi to two Euroleague championships.
Danny Green's NBA beginnings look very much like Parker's. Limited minutes, and not much to talk about. After spending some time in the D-League, Green went overseas - although he had a out clause to come back to the NBA. If the similarities continue, this could be a breakout season for him.
The way he played defense against Golden State looked uncannily like Parker when I saw him playing in Tel Aviv. He did a very good job of slowing down Monta Ellis - forcing him to give up the ball, making him work hard for shots. And on a number of plays he did a good job of holding him off long enough to feed him to a help defender. That's an under-rated skill for a good perimiter defender. (Those who think Bowen did it all by himself are naive. Nobody can lock down a scorer who is in the zone indefinitely.) It was only one game, but watching Danny Green last night was almost like watching an old film of Anthony Parker.
Some things don't show up on a stat sheet, and one of those is the confidence he seemed to suddenly be playing with. It's a hard thing pin down, but there were a couple of plays that I can think of that demonstrate that. Once was when he ran down on a fast break, and set up for that corner 3, and was just begging for the ball. In his mind, he KNEW that if he got the feed he was going to bury the shot. Another was late in the fourth quarter, with the Spurs up by just 1 point. The Warriors missed a shot, and Tim got the rebound - almost. He just couldn't get a handle on the ball, and neither could Jefferson, who was standing right next to Tim. It looked like one of the plays that make Spurs fans want to pull out their hair: two Spurs allow an easy rebound to become a loose ball, and let the opponent pick it up and score a gimme two points. That would have been a disaster at that point in the game. Green saw it developing, ran back and plucked the ball up from between Duncan and Jefferson - then he dribbled it out of trouble and got it up the floor to Parker. It may not sound like much, but a lot of young, untested players would have just left it to the two guys with the huge contracts. Green KNEW he could get the job done, and he jumped in and did it. And even though it didn't look like much, that play may have saved the game. If the Warriors had picked that ball up and scored to take the lead (and I think they would have, without Green stepping up) you would have felt the air leave the room.
It will be interesting to see if Green can keep it up, against better teams than Golden State. But a red hot Monta Ellis is a legitimate test of his defensive abilities. He may not be the next Bruce Bowen, but if he can play like Anthony Parker did at the same point in his career, he could become the first man off the bench now, and even a starter in a couple of years. Nobody - and I mean nobody, thought Anthony Parker could do it either, in his first couple of years in the league - he just showed up in Israel like a different player. I was still hoping that the Spurs might pick up an aging Anthony Parker this offseason. I'm excited at the possibility that they may have a young one in Danny Green.
Good write up and excellent observations.
Anthony Parker is an apt comparison for what Danny Green could become. Would be a great development for the Spurs. I'd like to see Green and Anderson swap roles at this point with Danny starting and James taking the 11th man slot.
Nice post.
Flash in the pan
Nice! I missed the 2nd half of the game last night but I'll keep my eye on Danny when I go back and watch the rest.
Pretty exciting to see him apply pressure to Rubio and Ellis like he did. He is playing with crazy confidence and he absolutely needs to be given a spot in the rotation.
Just like your troll tbh.
I worry though, that Anderson, being a 1st rounder, would prevent Pop from benching him in favor of Green.
My thoughts too.
Can Green play SG if he starts? I don't see why not.
Pop's new favorite player.
Good thoughts, GSH!
I actually agree with most of this...
Question: Will we see heavy scoops of this small ball lineup over the next 35 games, or so?
Duncan
Jefferson
Green
Neal/TJ Ford
Parker
There was some nice chemistry with Ford added as a second creator.
I don't think so, but it would be nice to have a strong bench that brings energy and creativity, ala the Malik Rose days in '99. Didn't he call them the Bum Rush crew or something similar? I can see TJ Ford, Green, Neal, Kawhi and Splitter or Blair come in as a small ball unit and really do some damage. I think there would be some obvious advantages and disadvantages to that bench lineup. We'd have a couple of strong perimeter defenders in Green and Ford, while also having a mediocre to good defensive presence inside with Kawhi and Splitter. Offensively, Ford is good enough to facilitate scoring by way of Green and Kawhi cuts, and the Splitter kickouts can hit Gary Neal sitting on the perimeter.
I'd much rather have Green off the bench and Anderson starting.
Great write-up, appreciate the thoughts!
I agree that expecting Green to become a Bowen-like defender is raising the bar awfully damn high, but there were some moments last night that reminded me of things Bruce used to do on the floor.
Like when they kept trying to get the ball to Ellis standing above the arc, and he would jump into the passing lane and knock the ball out of bounds. Simple things like those implant yourself into the offensive players head and make him understand that he's not going to get anything easy, not even getting the ball.
Also when he was playing the two on one break and at the last second, he guessed correctly and made a perfect swipe down on the ball.
Or after he hit that step back and started (faked) running up the floor, but then juked back and almost nabbed the inbounds pass.
And most of all, that time where Ellis got him to bite on the fake, but he jumped beside him and stayed in position on his shooting hip, and was right there to stuff it on the second jump. That was a block that Bowen made several times, including one notable time on a certain German robot.
Ellis was still in the zone and hitting some incredible shots, but you could tell he was having to work harder for them. Having to zip around screens, and shoot the ball as soon as he got it in his hands, which led to several coming up short. And a lot of times, even when he hit his shots, he still did it with a Danny Green hand right in his sight-line. You could just see the frustration. This was the kind of "rash" that Bowen was known for giving players right from the get-go...get in their heads at the start of the game, and let them know that they are going to have to scrap for their points. That type of mentality has been missing from the Spurs for a while.
Obviously, it is way too early to start anointing this kid just yet, but I am definitely intrigued to see what he can bring while given the chance. It could all just be a flash in the pan...case of right place, right time on one given night. But considering the defensive intensity he's brought ever since he's been able to see some floor time, I think he can bring it more regularly than people think, and that would be a huge asset to this team.
Wow, quality write up OP. I've stopped posting here due to the lack of real b-ball talk but you hit the nail on the head with this one. Great work.
While I'm not yet jumping on the Danny Green bandwagon, the similarities are undeniable.They both come from basketball families and it's in their blood to play this game.
Anybody can be like a "Bruce Bowen" type player once they get it through their heads that not everyone has to be like Jordan in order to help a team out. You just have to work on another set of skills. Anthony Parker realized this and was able to make a come back in the NBA. I think hes 35 or something now but Danny Green can still make a name for himself being so young. The idea of sicking him on longer, more powerful guards like Kevin Martin, Billups, Ellis, Rondo etc etc is very exciting indeed. If we can stop those type of players from scoring, perhaps the Spurs can regain some of that "Defense philosophy" for the remainder of the season.
to Danny Green. Keep it up and prove to us you belong.
It's hard not to get excited about the potential. He definitely has the necessary assets in footspeed and tenacity. He also seems to have a high motor. I see no reason why he wouldn't be able to continue that defensive intensity throughout the season. I sincerely hope that it's infectious, though, and spurs (pun intended) JA and Kawhi to up their defense as well.
It was just one game...
lebrons dance partner?
Great writeup, GSH! I appreciate the thoughts, insights and comparisons.
Green's arms looked a lot longer, to me, on the still shot photo than on TV. The Parker comparison probably makes more sense now than a Bowen comparison. However, it is a good target to aim for.
Green showed flashes of his skill last year and I'm happy as that the kid got another chance to showcase his stuff. Monta Ellis is a very dangerous and explosive scorer. To have a young player, get after it and make Ellis work to earn his points, in that way, was really special to watch.
Ironically that was the opening line to the book I'm writing about Danny Green.
I'm on the "only 1 game" boat.. dude looked great, even beastly, but one good game against undersized scorer Monta Ellis isn't nearly enough.
This. Then torch him when he has a bad game.
Quality writeup, GSH. And I really liked Dex's reply
I love the bring-you-back-to-reality folks, as if having hope just isn't cool and shouldn't be spoken aloud.
Why open the thread if you're only going to roll your eyes and sneer?
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