Draymond Green showing signs of progress in area Warriors never thought he'd fix
As the NBA season nears its quarter-mark, the Golden State Warriors, who sit at a 10-10 record, have been rather disappointing offensively, struggling to find any consistency from the players beyond their stars.
Yet, one relatively unnoticed development, the improved 3-point shooting of Draymond Green, could make a signficant impact on their versatility. While Green will certainly not win them games as a knockdown perimeter shooter, his ability to space the floor even slightly could grant the team much-needed offensive flexibility, especially
This season, Green is hitting 36.5% of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers: an extremely surprising improvement given his status as a career 32.1% shooter. While Green is always known to hit a deep shot here or there, a more consistent mark in this category could make all the difference for Golden State.
Draymond Green's sudden ability to space the floor could pay huge dividends when Jonathan Kuminga returns
Since the Warriors' championship run in 2022, their problem has always centered around one central deficit in their game: their inability to find the right mix of players to augment Stephen Curry.
While Jimmy Butler, who the team acquired at the trade deadline last season, did not make an impact from beyond the arc, his status as a bona-fide secondary scorer helped alleviate a significant portion of the defensive pressure that Curry faced, and, conjoined with his viability as a defender, the team saw a marked turnaround once he arrived
Yet, his presence also created issues. Given the fact that neither him nor Green were capable 3-point shooters, Golden State was unable to play Kuminga, their most dynamic young scorer, in the starting lineup.
This season, when Kuminga's been healthy, that combination has actually been particularly effective. Across the 160 minutes they've played together, the Warriors have an 11.8 net rating. Yet, the song remains the same. If none of these players are viable perimeter shooters, the team simply cannot have all three of them on the court at the same time.
However, Butler has shot a remarkable 45.9% from beyond the arc this year, and, barring a rough stretch he experienced right before his injury, Kuminga was showing signs of improvement as well.
Therefore, if Green can become even a shadow of a catch-and-shoot threat, the Warriors' ideal lineup could suddenly become available to them again.
Frankly, no one expects Green to suddenly become a knockdown shooter, but that is not what the team needs. Both him and Butler must be viable enough from beyond the arc that opposing defenses are required to at least pay attention to them in that area of the court, and, so far this season, it appears as though an unlikely development in Green's game may allow that to happen.
Ex-Yankee Joba Chamberlain Reveals That He Really Disliked This Red Sox Player
Former New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain added a new, spicy detail to the Yankees-Boston Red Sox rivalry this week.
Appearing as a guest on The Eddie Mata Show, Chamberlain revealed that there was one Red Sox player he particularly disliked, and the ironic thing is, Chamberlain continued to dislike this player even once the player joined the Yankees and became Chamberlain’s teammate.
“You don’t have to call out anybody, but … were there any guys that you didn’t get along with (in your career)?” Mata asked Chamberlain.
“Kevin Youkilis,” Chamberlain replied, without hesitation.
“He ended up being my teammate, too, but … I just didn’t like him. … I called him lik right when he signed (with the Yankees) and he ignored me, ignored me, ignored me, and then he gets to Spring Training, and wants to be all buddy buddy.”
“And then he breaks his back and doesn’t do anything for us, so that guy can go fly a kite,” Chamberlain added.
Youkilis signed with the Yankees ahead of the 2013 season, but he only ended up playing 28 games due to multiple injuries. This was Youkilis’s last year in MLB.
Chamberlain’s attempt to smooth things over with Youkilis has been documented, as has certain Yankees players and fans beyond Chamberlain being at odds with Youkilis from his Red Sox days, although it’s notable that Alex Rodríguez and Robinson Cano (both Yankees at the time of Youkilis signing with New York), publicly endorsed the move.
Chamberlain had an up-and-down MLB career. He was a first-round pick by the Yankees, and his MLB entrance was electic, yielding a 0.38 ERA over 19 relief outings. Transitioning to the rotation in 2008, injuries derailed his trajectory, including Tommy John surgery in 2009.
Traded to Detroit in 2013, Joba logged solid bullpen stints with the Tigers, Royals, and Cleveland Indians through 2016, amassing 546 career strikeouts across 388 appearances. Post-retirement, Chamberlain has embraced coaching and broadcasting.
