At the top, let’s take a second and assume that everything skeptical basketball fans are thinking right now is true. Let’s assume that if Draymond Green had been allowed to play Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Finals already would be referred to in the past tense.
Let’s assume that Kyrie Irving and LeBron James wouldn’t have been able to combine for 82 points if Green had managed to keep his hands to himself. Let’s assume that with Green around for a full shift of the things that make him so good – equal parts energizer and agitator, a worthy third sibling to the Splash Brothers – the Warriors would be busily tending to a parade plan instead of another Finals gameplan.