Dub Hub: Draymond Green sets goals for All-Defensive First Team and Defensive Player of the Year

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Thursday, October 31st.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Draymond Green is determined to be in the conversation for All-Defensive First Team and Defensive Player of the Year this season.
• Jonathan Kuminga tells NBC Sports Bay Area’s Keith Burke that he isn’t bothered by coming off the bench.
• Thunder beat the Spurs, 105-93, in matchup between second-year players Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama.

Draymond Green delivered a defensive masterclass in the Golden State Warriors’ recent 104-89 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Tasked with guarding Pelicans star Zion Williamson—who scored 31 points the previous night—Green held him to just 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting from the field. The Warriors’ defensive ace was nothing short of dominant, as he filled the stat sheet with 14 points, six assists, four rebounds, five blocks, and one steal.

Wednesday’s game was just the latest reminder of Green’s elite skillset. His basketball IQ, toughness, and versatility to guard anyone on the floor have earned him the reputation as one of the best defenders of this generation.

His accolades include winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and four All-Defensive First Team selections—most recently in 2021. He has also been named an All-Defensive Second Team selection for the past two years, yet, despite the league’s influx of young defensive talent, Green is determined to return to the First Team and make a serious bid for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Warriors thrive when Green leads the defensive charge, and as he continues to make his case for awards-season recognition, his focus will be pivotal to the team’s championship aspirations. If Green can sustain this level of play, he just might secure that coveted First Team spot and make a strong case for his second Defensive Player of the Year title.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Thursday, October 31st:

Warriors News:

Draymond shows he’s on a mission in Warriors’ sweep of Pelicans | NBC Sports Bay Area

“I spent the Clippers game [a loss on Sunday] in my feelings because I was just standing in the corner,” Green said. “So, I was like, ‘If you’re going to spend the game in your feelings, when you get the opportunity to shoot the ball, you’ve got to shoot.’ You can’t cry about something and not do the work to change it.

“Also, I think I’m a very good shooter. I spend a lot of time on it. But Steph’s not out there and Wiggs is not out there, which means the first open shot you get may be the best look you get throughout the possession.”

There is no hesitation. When Green had the ball beyond the arc and didn’t see a cutter, he launched. His third 3-ball came early in the third quarter and pushed the Warriors’ lead from six to nine.

Anderson shows value to Warriors, who ‘hated’ playing against him | NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green doesn’t forget. His memory is one of the many resources he can reach in and grab from his tool box. One such example highlights the ways his new Warriors teammate, Kyle Anderson, can affect games without producing highlights that spread across social media.

“He’s one of those guys I hated playing against, I told y’all before,” Green said Wednesday night. “He got a steal either last year or a couple years ago where I was throwing a pass and he reached his long-ass arm out and took the ball and I’m like, ‘Yo, how did he get the ball?’”

Draymond Green explains how the Warriors have improved at challenging foul calls

Jonathan Kuminga isn’t bothered by his role coming off the bench

Warriors pick up third-year option on Brandin Podziemski

NBA News:

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren gets best of Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama | ESPN

Asked about the spectacle of the matchup with Wembanyama, who unanimously won NBA Rookie of the Year last season, Holmgren, the runner-up, chalked it all up to promotion.

“Because the NBA is a business, and the league has been built around players playing basketball,” Holmgren said. “It’s about getting people to come and watch the games. That’s one of the ways they do it: by advertising the players. I just see it as a form of advertisement. It doesn’t change what our mission is. We’re trying to win the basketball games. The NBA is gonna handle the business around it.”

Anthony Edwards is shooting it from deep like never before. Is the 3-ball evolution good or bad? | Yahoo Sports

The NBA’s deep dive into 3-point shooting has transformed the game entirely. Today, the 3 isn’t just a weapon; it’s the foundation of almost every offense. Analytics demand it, coaches preach it and players adapt to it. But here’s the question: Has this evolution really been good for the game? Is basketball more enjoyable to watch, or has something been lost in the process?

Hornets pull Halloween prank on All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

The ‘New Rules,’ according to Jerry Stackhouse and Draymond Green

“He’s adding a fire and a level of accountability to us on the defensive end,” Green said of Stackhouse. “He came in kind of implementing some different defensive rules. If you know anything about the NBA, we all run the same stuff. He’s coming back from college, obviously Stack’s a vet… He came in with a couple different rules where everyone’s like, ‘Uhh.’ But he was so confident and he was so vocal about it. And every time you got it wrong he’s teaching you, ‘That’s not it. I know you’ve done it that way. That’s not it.’ And when someone comes in with that type of force, with that type of confidence and presence, as a player you have no choice but to believe it. He’s given guys a level of confidence on the defensive end that we haven’t had but more importantly a level of accountability that we haven’t had over the last couple of years.”

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