“Worst thing to do!” LeBron James baffled by NBA teams allowing Draymond Green ‘unlock his superpower’

It is safe to say that LeBron James has all the plays memorized.

 

“Worst thing to do!” LeBron James baffled by NBA teams allowing Draymond Green ‘unlock his superpower’

LeBron James and Draymond Green

The All-Time scoring leader, LeBron James has faced the Warriors on multiple occasions throughout his career. Playing the Dubs in the NBA Finals for four straight years, to facing them in the Conference Semi-Finals, James knows exactly what he deals with when facing Golden State. Since 2015, the big three, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green have been the leaders on the offensive end of the floor.

Recently on LeBron James and JJ Redick‘s podcast, Mind the Game, Redick discussed a very specific play that reminded him of the Dubs. Draymond Green has been the facilitator of the Dubs for years. He puts his best efforts on the defensive end and makes shots for Curry and Thompson on the other end. Though this particular play is Green’s superpower.

Which is the worst thing you can do... See everyone thinks that putting two on the ball takes Steph out of the play. The problem that you don't understand is that you're now unlocking Draymond's superpower offesnively. Draymond's superpower offesnively, is the 4 on 3 game. You put two on the ball, now Draymond has his 4 on 3 and I'm gonna have Iguodala in the past, now Wigs and Kuminga.

LeBron James said

Curry’s deep shooting is already a dangerous threat on the perimeter. Putting a double team on Curry while Green is there for help indeed results in a 4 v 3 situation. As ‘King’ said, Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga are the guys who go for the lob. A few years ago, Andre Iguodala was the player to find the backdoor.

LeBron James knows all of Golden State’s plays

 

The Lakers played the Warriors last year in the Conference Semi-Finals. While up 2-1, the Lakers looked to extend their lead at home. With just seconds left in the fourth, the Warriors were down by three. The Dubs decided to run a hammer play which is usually initiated by a fake dribble handoff after which the initiator drives to the bucket and passes the ball in the corner.

 

Green being the initiator tried to pass it to Thompson who was in the corner. However, James saw it before it even happened. The King switched Anthony Davis on Thompson beforehand which resulted in an interception. This led to a 3-1 lead over the Warriors and the Lakers eventually took the series.

James has been in the league for over two decades, and knowing certain plays in crunchtime is nothing new for the King. The Lakers will face the Warriors for the second time in the Play-In tournament in the last three years. It will be interesting to see whether the men in purple and gold will make another postseason run.