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Draymond Green on Winning DPOY Despite Injury: 'I'm Gonna Get It Done'

Scott Polacek

Draymond Green has missed 14 of the Golden State Warriors' last 16 games and hasn't played since Nov. 15, but he believes he is still going to win Defensive Player of the Year.

"Hell no," he said when asked if the time off impacted his goal of winning the award, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. "Kawhi beat me one year I think he played 56 games, something like that. So hell no, it's still on my mind. And I'm gonna get it done."

This comes after Green made his goals perfectly clear on Nov. 1 when talking about his pursuit of the award, per Friedell: "I need that. I need that bad. Real bad. I made second team all-defense last year. I'm pissed about that still. I'll be pissed until I right that, so that's a serious goal of mine this year. And I'm on it every night."

Not only would the award give him a second one of his career, but it would also make him eligible to sign a super-max extension this coming offseason.

The Michigan State product will have the chance to add to his defensive laurels again Monday, as head coach Steve Kerr said he will be back against the Minnesota Timberwolves, per Logan Murdock of the Mercury News.

Green is a four-time member of an All-Defensive team and won the Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17. He mentioned Kawhi Leonard winning the award while missing time, which he did in 2014-15 and 2015-16 by playing 64 games and 72 games, respectively.

The Warriors forward has played 13 games this season and is averaging 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks a night. He is the defending champions' defensive leader who is versatile enough to stay in front of stretch forwards while also matching up with much taller players when Golden State goes to its small-ball lineups.

According to NBA.com, the Warriors' defensive rating is 110.3 when he's off the court and 101.7 when he's one it.

If Green remains on the floor and continues to impact his team's overall defense in such a manner, the Defensive Player of the Year is not out of the question even after he missed so much time in the early portion of the season.

   

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