Warriors' Draymond Green sees benefits of time off

Draymond Green has transformed himself from a second-round draft pick into the reigning Defensive Player of the Year through an unyielding will. More than any physical trait, what separates Green is his ability to outwork the competition.

Sitting out five of six games, including the past four in a row, with a sore right shoulder gnawed at one of the NBA’s most competitive players. Now that he is poised to return Friday night against the Lakers, Green sees the benefits of his extended hiatus.

“We’ve been to the Finals three years in a row, played in the Olympics,” Green said. “You try to push through it, you can only do that for so long until you can’t anymore. Just try to get ahead of everything, give my body a break. Let my body kind of catch up to where I am mentally.”

Two weeks off allowed him to rest a shoulder that has bothered him much of the year. Perhaps more importantly, it afforded Green a mental break during the grind of another season that figures to go deep into June.

Approaching each game with playoff-level intensity takes its toll. In the 2017 NBA Finals, Green appeared fatigued as he averaged 11 points on 34.5 percent shooting, 4.4 fouls and 2.4 turnovers over five games. It was after watching that video that head coach Steve Kerr decided to start resting Green periodically in the regular season.

Unlike earlier in his career, when Green bristled at the possibility of sitting, he agreed with Kerr’s logic. Green rested Golden State’s Nov. 24 rout of Chicago. Still, a night off from time to time only helps so much.

“Just knowing for two weeks straight, waking up and knowing I don’t have a game today, it’s good for your body,” said Green, who will wear a black compression sleeve on his right shoulder Friday night. “It’s good for you mentally, emotionally. It’s good to recuperate.”

Green channeled much of his energy into mentoring Jordan Bell and Omri Casspi, both of whom capitalized on the uptick in playing time. Bell continued to look like a second-round steal as he delivered a steady stream of highlights. Meanwhile, Casspi averaged 13.5 points, nine rebounds and 2.3 assists in 26.8 minutes over the past four games.

“It was good for them,” Green said, “and it was good for the whole team.”

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron

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