He does not have great athleticism. However, he makes up for it with his very long arms.
As I said before, he is probably the best guard at contesting shots. Leonard could stand to learn from Green in that regard.
Green isn't terrible at leading the break unless he has to dribble with someone within five feet of him. He made a couple of nice passes in transition in this series, and he's taken it himself a few times.
He does not have great athleticism. However, he makes up for it with his very long arms.
He does have a problem with getting posted and pushed around. Leonard definitely better on the stronger guys. Green really is a disruptive open floor defender.
That is one night.That would be like watching him hit a layup and claiming he's good at that. Danny has a lot of flaws if you really are looking, but people shouldn't be hunting for that with a player like him. He's undoubtedly a net positive player. He's a very good athlete but it does not appear that way because what HH mentioned and because he's more straight line athletic (jumping, running straight-forward) - when you introduce the element of side to side and/or the ball he's a bit awkward.
He's had a tremendous year with the Spurs which is great because the Spurs rewarded him with a contract and he is easily living up to it so far.
Both. He lacks confidence because his coordination needs work. When Green gets going, he's not as bad of a ball-handler as he seems most of the time. He could get good enough to run the pick-and-roll effectively. He'll never be more than adequate, though.
I generally agree. I am not claiming Green is a good player at running the break. But you can't be the worst player in an aspect if you have a good deal of nights where you are adequate in that aspect. This isn't the only game where Green's been good in offensive transition. In fact, he hasn't really had a bad one in a while.
Green's biggest issue is consistency. Physically, he's good enough, and skill-wise, he's good enough. When he really concentrates, he can have games like this. This wasn't a game in which he hit a ridiculous number of three-pointers. Everything he did tonight is repeatable.
Really, Green just needs to be good enough on offense so that players can't "hide" on him. What he's doing against Curry lately give me hope.
Green's defense has really been something to watch this series. I knew he was good, but he has been playing at an elite level since game 1. He is shutting down everyone he checks. The Spurs might finally have the closest thing to a Bowen replacement they will ever find.
Lebron is great at chase-down blocks, but not much else (in transition defense). Green is great at blocking, contesting and deterring. Not saying Lebron's block don't count more than everything Green does, but it's not as clear-cut as you seem to think.
That's when James is there. That's not a given on every transition opportunity. Green is almost always there. That counts for a lot.
Yep. I wasn't even going to respond to that comment, but you're exactly right. Green winds up out in front of more breaks than LeBron, but that's got a lot to do with where the two usually are on the floor. LeBron is definitely good at running them down and getting blocks from behind. But he's not spending nearly as much time out on the 3-P line, so he's not going to be out in front of as many breaks.
One thing Green does really well, is anticipate. It serves him well on defense, and it's a big part of what makes him good at defending fast breaks.
Sorry. I didn't know I was interrupting a case of man-love. I'm sure if LeBron WAS out in front of a lot of fast breaks he would defend them better than anyone, and commanding fear, and coloring your world. You win. Winning.
As an aside, this has just been a whacky West playoff so far. I literally don't know what to expect and for every terrible moment, there has been great ones and a lot of random guys stepping up and playing big. Wild West seems applicable at this point.
He made a layup too
For a non athletic guard he gets a lot of blocks.
I pretty much agree with that. I don't think there will ever be a player like James again. He's like Calvin Johnson ... if Johnson could play every position on both sides of the ball as well as he can play wide-out.
He's still vulnerable mentally. Chicago's shown that. Memphis can probably get in his head if they want to. The Spurs would probably just defend around him.
He REALLY has improved quickly. He looked like scrub city at times this season and last.
Great game from Green overall. does a little bit of anything. If he plays well it is huge for this team. It's not a bonus. The team needs him to play like this.
Every now and then I read something and think, "Damn... I wish I had said that." I think that says it about as concisely as it could be done. He's got decent lateral movement on the defensive end, but with the ball, he's all about straight lines. I had hopes that he would develop beyond that. But even if he doesn't he's got a place on an NBA team - especially one like the Spurs.
Lots of great players have had careers cut short, or played for crappy teams their whole careers. They can't get their due when that happens. But if LeBron stays healthy, and collects a few more LOB's, you'll probably be right. He's definitely got the talent for it. It would be kind of dumb to deny that.
Now... if you really give credit where it's due, watch Danny Green when he's out in front of a 2-on-1 fast break. If you really love the game, you should appreciate a craftsman at work. Defending a 2-on-1 is a thankless job, because no matter who you are, or how good you do it, you're going to get your ass kicked most of the time. But if I was coaching high school kids on how to do it, I would show them film of Green.
LeBron may be (or become) the best PLAYER of all time. But that doesn't mean that he's the best at everything of all time. That shouldn't be too much of a bitter pill to swallow.
I wish Leonard would track down blocks from behind like Danny does.
And if you're just now realizing he's quite the athlete, you aren't much of a Spurs fan.
I really like that Grantland piece about the new NBA value player, the "three and D" guy. Both Kawhi and Green got the love.
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