The Warriors showed up on Wednesday, blowing out the Lakers in a Game 5 performance that sends the series back to Los Angeles.
Draymond Green was tremendous on both ends in Game 5, scoring 20 points in a rare offensive outburst. As crucial as the performance was, it left more questions than answers for ESPN’s Tim Legler.
“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, the biggest difference in the game,” Legler said on KNBR. “I got frustrated by a guy that was playing great last night, does that make any sense? I’m talking about Draymond Green.
“Somebody’s going to have to explain to me why Draymond Green doesn’t play like that all the time. I understand he’s not going to always put up a 20-point scoring game, I get that. That’s not what I’m talking about…I know who Draymond Green is. But the urgency as a duel-threat offensively. That’s all I’m talking about. Shoot the shots that are available to you, to take pressure off Steph and Klay and all the pressure that they’re getting on the perimeter. Why is that something that he was able to premeditate going in to the game, that ‘this is how I’m going to play?’ Cause that’s clearly what happened, to me.”
The Lakers have been playing off Green all series, daring him to score while mitigating his passing ability. On Wednesday, Green called their bluff to great success. The real question is, will he continue to do that for the remainder of the series.
“He was that way from the very beginning of the game,” Legler continued on Murph & Mac. “So, how does that happen? There’s other games where he’s so reluctant to even look in the direction of the basket when he has space, and it looks like he should make a play. I just don’t get it.
“I understand what he does defensively with his passing, they’re always going to be important. But this final component of Draymond, where he makes you pay when he gets an opportunity as a scorer, it’s so important to the Warriors team.
“I was watching it last night like, what do I see right now and why do I not see this every night out of Draymond?”
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