Getty Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
During the Golden State Warriors‘ reign of dominance in the Western Conference, Draymond Green has always had a defined role as a leader within the team. Well, that is until this season.
Green’s leadership role has been in limbo all year, ever since he was recorded punching his teammate Jordan Poole, during a practice.
There’s no way to know for sure, but there is a feeling that the incident has had an affect on the team this season. For example, they’ve struggled immensely on the road, winning just 9-of-38 games away from Chase Center. That could have something to do with a lack of a stabilizing force to lean on when things get tough away from home.
Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard told 95.7 The Game’s Steiny and Guru that he feels like Green has to get back into a position of authority with the Warriors.
“The question is, has he lost that [on the court] authority?” Broussard questioned.” I know he’s trying to pick it up and he’s got to. Whether it’s a team meeting or him just deciding to do it, he’s got to get back what he had last year and the previous years.”
Stephen Curry Discusses Crucial Draymond Green Turnover in Warriors Loss
Green was on the wrong end of the play that lost Golden State their most recent matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
With the final seconds ticking down and the game tied, the 33-year-old had his pass deflected by Minnesota’s Kyle Anderson. Anderson then gained possession, dribbled down the floor, and found a wide-open Karl Anthony-Towns, who nailed the eventual game-winning three.
KAT IS BACK BABY!!!
After the 99-96 loss, Warriors star Stephen Curry sat down with reporters and discussed the game-deciding sequence.
“At first, it felt like they were trying to take a foul,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “I got two people that kind of swiped at me, and they didn’t call anything, so then I changed sides of the court. And I thought it was a little early to shoot just because [if] you make or miss, you give them another possession. So, I kicked it to Draymond. Obviously, I’m sure we could just hold it at that point, maybe, but everything up until that point was just trying to run the clock off. Run time off the clock and force them to need to make a decision whether they really wanted to foul or not. But we lost it.”
Steve Kerr Disappointed with Warriors in Loss to Timberwolves
Head coach Steve Kerr wasn’t thrilled with the Warriors’ play down the stretch against the Timberwolves. He told the media that he needs his team to execute better and limit turnovers.
“I don’t need to rank them (the turnovers). They all hurt,” Kerr said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel.” We got to close the game. We got to execute down the stretch. And I got to help them. I got to do a better job myself in helping them to execute. But disappointing because we fought back and gave ourselves a chance to win. Had the ball with the lead late. I thought couple of possessions in those last two minutes just hurt us, and they hit the big shot.”