Golden State Warriors: Breaking down the NBA Finals position matchups
By Justin Fried
Power Forward (Draymond Green vs. Pascal Siakam)
On the surface, this could be the most even and interesting matchup of the entire series. Both players have contributed in significant ways to their teams and are playing some of their best basketball at the moment.
Draymond Green has been the glue that has kept the Warriors together for quite some time now, but he’s arguably been playing the best basketball of his career this postseason. The five-time NBA All-Defensive team recipient is fresh off back-to-back triple-doubles to close out the Western Conference Finals and has been doing seemingly everything for Golden State.
Green’s value may not be as apparent as someone like Curry or Durant, but he’s just as integral to the success of the team.
Pascal Siakam, on the other hand, is finishing up what has been a breakout campaign for the 2016 first-round pick. Siakam is likely the front runner for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award and has established himself as Toronto’s No. 2 scoring option behind Leonard.
His offensive output has dried up slightly in the postseason but that’s likely only because of Leonard’s production spike. Regardless, he still remains a savvy defender and well-rounded overall player.
Still, we’re going to give the slight edge to Green simply because his value is greater to the Warriors than Siakam’s is to the Raptors. Without Green, Golden State would fall apart while Toronto — although they would struggle — would be able to lean on Leonard to survive without Siakam.