Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was recently named the Western Conference Defensive Player of March.
The former Michigan State Spartan helped lead the Warriors to an 11-4 record in March while averaging 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
Green has been named to the All-Defensive Team eight times and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2016-17, owns averages of 9.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks in 29.0 minutes over 60 games (58 starts) this season.
Draymond elbows a rival and it reminds fans of his dirty plays
Draymond Green has been known in the league as a rough player that’s not afraid to get physical and who can be take his defense to the extreme, with some critics saying that he’s a dirty baller that needs to be held accountable for his plays.
One of them happened Sunday night, when Green was assessed a flagrant 1 foul for making contact with Houston Rockets center Alperen Engün as he went up for a layup. After review, Green‘s elbow appeared to strike Engün in the face as he attempted to make the basket, and officials deemed the action unnecessary.
It was Draymond’s third flagrant of the season, and his fifth personal foul of the game because it wasn’t the first time things got heated between the Houston center and the feisty forward. The play reminded some fans of the multiple times that Green has been at the center of rough plays against European NBA players – Alperen is from Turkey -.
Warriors wil need Draymond’s defensive presence
The Golden State Warriors currently held the sixth spot on the Western Conference, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Denver Nuggets, and the Los Angeles Clippers. If the season were to end this week, the Bay Area team will be forced to be part of a play-in tournament for a spot in the next round of the playoffs.
And Golden State will definitely need every single ounce of defensive presence from Draymond Green, who is the first Warriors player to earn the Western Conference Defensive Player of a month, an accolade that the NBA began awarding this season.
However, the Warriors would also need Green to bring down his roughness to avoid falling into foul trouble. The offensive power is covered, as long as superstar shooter Stephen Curry and offensive juggernaut Jimmy Butler stay healthy to lead the team to victory.
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