Draymond Green doesn’t believe there was a downside to the Golden State Warriors signing Kevin Durant.
Bold, I know.
It sounds stupid to say. At the same time, crotchety folks have waxed displeasure with the defensive sacrifices the Warriors made to acquire Durant. Andrew Bogut was injury-prone, but a solid interior anchor. So, too, was Festus Ezeli. Zaza Pachulia is a definite downgrade. And while Durant isn’t worlds inferior to Harrison Barnes on the defensive end, the latter was far more used to shimmying between both forward positions on the less glamorous side.
One could easily make the case at the beginning of the season that Golden State’s defense was worse as a result of all this. Now, with the Warriors riding a 12-game winning streak, it’s hard to make the argument—especially with Green drowning said stance in gasoline, per Anthony Slater of the Bay Area News Group:
Draymond Green: "The world said we traded away our defense when we got KD. I disagree."
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 29, 2016
The numbers are starting to support Draymond Green’s claim. The Warriors rank eighth in points allowed per 100 possessions following their 105-100 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night, and the entire team looks more comfortable playing off one another on both sides of the floor.
Plus, the early-season drop-off was always overblown. Even as the Warriors were toiling away in the middle of the defensive ranks, they were still getting things done when it mattered most:
The Warriors' D efficiency is 20th overall, but actually 10th when it's not garbage time. Dead last in garbage time (21 pts worse than avg).
— Dean Oliver (@DeanO_Lytics) November 21, 2016
Sure, the Warriors lack size. But that’s by design. And they are still one of the five best teams in the league at protecting the rim, according to NBA.com. Not even their defensive rebounding is a concern. They don’t grab a ton relative to the rest of the Association, but they force turnovers and, most importantly, have the best offense in the league after grabbing a defensive board, per Inpredictable.com.
Believe or not, the Warriors didn’t sacrifice anything by adding a top-five NBA player. Even after factoring in the personnel losses, Durant makes them better, more dangerous—and that’s before we consider what the Warriors will be once they reach their peak.
