2020-21 NBA Season Discussion

[MartinToVaught]

What's annoying about Draymond (besides the stuff people have been complaining about for years) is how the media keeps hyping him up as "the most underappreciated player in the league" now, even though he makes $22+ million per year while being abysmal on offense. I'd say he's more than properly appreciated with that salary.

Like, somehow this is the narrative after he had 2 points, 6 turnovers, shot 0-5, and was +0 in a loss:

Read on Twitter

Don't get me wrong, he did some nice work defensively last night, but you just can't have that little production on offense from someone making that much money.

[parsnips33]

What's annoying about Draymond (besides the stuff people have been complaining about for years) is how the media keeps hyping him up as "the most underappreciated player in the league" now, even though he makes $22+ million per year while being abysmal on offense. I'd say he's more than properly appreciated with that salary.

Like, somehow this is the narrative after he had 2 points, 6 turnovers, shot 0-5, and was +0 in a loss:

Read on Twitter

Don't get me wrong, he did some nice work defensively last night, but you just can't have that little production on offense from someone making that much money.

I mean, Warriors lose that game by 20 without Draymond. Seems perfectly logical to think someone who excels in aspects of the game outside of scoring (where he's well below average) would be underappreciated by most fans.

Saying he "did some nice work defensively" is like saying "Lebron hit a 3 at the end of the game". Bit of an understatement.

[CKRT]

if Dray had an offensive game he would be KG-lite on a team with Klay and Steph. That would truly be unfair for teams and the light years ahead thing is no longer a joke lol

[Texas Chuck]

Draymond absolutely continues to be one of the most underappreciated players in the league. Same as Gobert prior to this year where he finally seems to be getting some appreciation. Citing points when talking about Draymond just shows a fundamental unawareness of his game and how he impacts the Warriors in so many other ways.

And he has plenty of impact on offense without scoring, but even if he didn't, you can absolutely pay a guy $20M a year just for Draymond's massive defensive impact. Crazy to think that having one of the 3 best defensive players in the entire league isn't worth paying for.

[Colbinii]

What's annoying about Draymond (besides the stuff people have been complaining about for years) is how the media keeps hyping him up as "the most underappreciated player in the league" now, even though he makes $22+ million per year while being abysmal on offense. I'd say he's more than properly appreciated with that salary.

Like, somehow this is the narrative after he had 2 points, 6 turnovers, shot 0-5, and was +0 in a loss:

What should the narrative be? What's wrong with the narrative? He played an all-time great game defensively and made the right decision on offense time after time, setting up his teammates.

RE $22 Million: Draymond isn't close to being overpaid, stop.

Don't get me wrong, he did some nice work defensively last night, but you just can't have that little production on offense from someone making that much money.

Umm...

He did Nice Work?

Understatement of the century. He almost single-handedly held a Lakers team to 42 points in the first half. He put together the best defensive half I have seen all season.

Could you imagine a roster as deep offensively as the Clippers holding a team to 42 points in a half? They would win by 30.

Here is what you are missing, Draymond had 3 steals and 3 blocks. How many transition opportunities did those lead to?

How many open shots did his passing lead to? I saw Wiggins, Poole and Mulder all miss wide-open 3's off of Draymonds passes.

[Doctor MJ]

What's annoying about Draymond (besides the stuff people have been complaining about for years) is how the media keeps hyping him up as "the most underappreciated player in the league" now, even though he makes $22+ million per year while being abysmal on offense. I'd say he's more than properly appreciated with that salary.

Like, somehow this is the narrative after he had 2 points, 6 turnovers, shot 0-5, and was +0 in a loss:

Read on Twitter

Don't get me wrong, he did some nice work defensively last night, but you just can't have that little production on offense from someone making that much money.

The word "underappreciated" here is tricky, because Draymond has had plenty of appreciation from some, but tends to get a level of disrespect kinda like what you'd expect for someone who isn't a star scorer, from others.

I'll also say: While $22 mill is a lot of money no matter how you slice it, and an indicator that the Warriors appreciate him, I think it's also clear that the Warriors have always prioritized Klay over Dray with contracts and future-importance. And while I would not have said they were wrong to think like this, it's really something to watch Dray & Steph work together this season.

I had been thinking that to best make use of Steph's entire career they'd need to move on from Dray, because Dray's game would decay earlier than Steph's. While that still seems true, it's now clear that Steph really needs players around who know how to play with him so that others can learn from watching those guys. And none more so than Dray.

[parsnips33]

Love the Draymond defense squad coming out This is why RealGM is the best place to talk hoops online

[Dupp]

What's annoying about Draymond (besides the stuff people have been complaining about for years) is how the media keeps hyping him up as "the most underappreciated player in the league" now, even though he makes $22+ million per year while being abysmal on offense. I'd say he's more than properly appreciated with that salary.

Like, somehow this is the narrative after he had 2 points, 6 turnovers, shot 0-5, and was +0 in a loss:

Read on Twitter

Don't get me wrong, he did some nice work defensively last night, but you just can't have that little production on offense from someone making that much money.

Draymond was worth every penny last night. He was great.

[yoyoboy]

Draymond last night had one of the most dominant defensive performances I’ve ever personally watched. He’s nowhere even close to overpaid. And Draymond isn’t terrible on offense. He’s a terrible scorer. There’s a difference. He still contributes with his playmaking/directing guys on offense and screening chemistry with Steph.

[Outside]

Draymond is not abysmal at offense. He is abysmal at shooting. There are many aspects to offense besides shooting. He is a gifted passer, screen setter, and overall floor general. He is sympatico with Curry and helps make Curry be his best. He helps maximize the effect of Curry's gravity by exploiting the mismatches Curry's gravity creates. He's really good at many aspects of offense. He just can't shoot worth a damn, though he is decent at free throws.

[Fadeaway_J]

Love the Draymond defense squad coming out This is why RealGM is the best place to talk hoops online

I'm not part of the squad, but I'll be happy not to see that MFer again for the rest of the year thank you very much.

[falcolombardi]

as someone high on draymond and his defense i wonder if his passing makes us forget that his shooting is still an issue

his passing and drive and kicks in his play with curry are great and very valued...but my issue is this

blocking off the rival star, the 3 point line and closing the paint is usually the ideal situation for any defense, and that is the kind of defense that can be set against draymond/curry teams.

if he was a better shooter maybe he could just take the open jumper when teams double or blitz curry and it would be better and easier than what he does with the ball passing to cutters or driving ?

are we sure we dont overvalue draymond passing aesthetically when is a harder way to accomplish what a "simple" open jumper would do?

i talk only offensively here, that maybe all yhe great thinghs on offense draymond does, while great to watch are not as good of a complement to curry as simply better spacing would be. too much work for too little return despite looking great

[parsnips33]

as someone high on draymond and his defense i wonder if his passing makes us forget that his shooting is still an issue

his passing and drive and kicks in his play with curry are great and very valued...but my issue is this

blocking off the rival star, the 3 point line and closing the paint is usually the ideal situation for any defense, and that is the kind of defense that can be set against draymond/curry teams.

if he was a better shooter maybe he could just take the open jumper when teams double or blitz curry and it would be better and easier than what he does with the ball passing to cutters or driving ?

are we sure we dont overvalue draymond passing aesthetically when is a harder way to accomplish what a "simple" open jumper would do?

i talk only offensively here

You aren't wrong - just like a guy who only looks to score but never set guys up has an inherently limited ceiling on his offensive impact, the inverse is also true.

I still think holistically Draymond has a positive impact on our offense and a unquantifiable impact on our defense. Put that together and you get a foundational piece for the greatest dynasty in modern basketball.

[parsnips33]

Love the Draymond defense squad coming out This is why RealGM is the best place to talk hoops online

I'm not part of the squad, but I'll be happy not to see that MFer again for the rest of the year thank you very much.

See you in the WCF

[Dupp]

This will be the 6th time cp3 has faced the defending champs in the post season.

[ShotCreator]

Last night was such a classic game. Beautiful. Era defining game.

Showed the strengths and weaknesses of every top player. 3 era defining players(Green, Curry, LeBron). AD’s lack of creativity as a scorer, Draymond’s scoring/shooting but insane motor and positioning as well as playmaking, Curry’s passing and defense(now) but his amazing shot making game and true creativity in general on and off ball, LeBron’s lack of true speed and brakes(now) but the abundance of awareness and intelligence.





People will look back at that game for years as a , “remember when?” game. Moreso than any one finals game for me.

[Dupp]

Also to be fair dray was absolute trash last season. I think it’s fair to say his impact is directly tied to curry. Now that makes sense offensively but defensively it shouldn’t have made much of a difference. I guess he mailed it in which is kinda lame

[ShotCreator]

What's annoying about Draymond (besides the stuff people have been complaining about for years) is how the media keeps hyping him up as "the most underappreciated player in the league" now, even though he makes $22+ million per year while being abysmal on offense. I'd say he's more than properly appreciated with that salary.

Like, somehow this is the narrative after he had 2 points, 6 turnovers, shot 0-5, and was +0 in a loss:

Read on Twitter

Don't get me wrong, he did some nice work defensively last night, but you just can't have that little production on offense from someone making that much money.

Draymond’s ONLY getting $22M a year? WTF.

I would’ve bet everything he was a max guy. GS is lucky he want to be there, we could be talking about Draymond anchoring like 5 different contenders right now if he was insulted by that.

[falcolombardi]

This will be the 6th time cp3 has faced the defending champs in the post season.

for anyone curious

warriors x2 with rockets in 2018 and 2019 (7 and 6 games losses)

Spurs 2008 (7 games loss) and 2015 (7 game win)

lakers 2011 (6 games loss)

edit: 2018 and 2019*, not 17

[Fadeaway_J]

This will be the 6th time cp3 has faced the defending champs in the post season.

for anyone curious

warriors x2 with rockets in 2017 and 2018 (7 and 6 games losses)

Spurs 2008 (7 games loss) and 2015 (7 game win)

lakers 2011 (6 games loss)

Rockets 2019 not 2017. Warriors weren't defending champs in 2017.