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Stephen Curry is excited to finally welcome back Draymond Green to the Golden State Warriors lineup after a five-game suspension.
But he’s tempering the expectations.
“Draymond being back helps a lot not just because of what he does defensively but the way he communicates, but it won’t solve everything,” Curry told reporters after leading Golden State to a 118-112 win over San Antonio on Friday. “So, we have to address those especially going to Sacramento. We know how [potent] their offense is.”
Green is set for Tuesday’s return. The Warriors have lost three of the five games Green missed after his chokehold of Rudy Gobert.
But their woes started even before that incident. The Warriors have lost seven of their last nine games after a 6-2 start to the season.
“That nine-game stretch that we’re in right now has not been great,” Curry said. “So I know Draymond’s excited to be back. We’re excited to have him. We need him.”
But Green’s return will not magically cover up for the Warriors’ problems.
Warriors’ Point of Attack Defense
Their middling defense — giving up 113 points per 100 possessions (14th in the NBA after Friday’s games) — is brought by the combination of a lot of factors.
Their aging core and lack of backcourt size posed problems defending the point of attack.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr adjusted against the Spurs, replacing Chris Paul in the starting lineup with the much younger and more athletic Moses Moody. Gary Payton II’s return from a three-game absence because of a foot injury also helped.
Payton II quickly made his presence felt with a highlight block on 7-foot-3 rookie wunderkind Victor Wembanyama in the first half which set the tone defensively.
“I think overall, how we talked about that last couple of practice sessions we had a week ago to kind of just focus on the areas of improvement,” Curry said, “especially on both sides of the ball offensively and what we’re trying to accomplish on each possession defensively being more connected as a unit and trusting each other a little bit more so that we can be better like the point of attack defense and knowing that we have help side.”
Curry believes Green will help them organize their defense. But as he said, Green won’t solve everything. It has to be a collective effort.
Gary Payton II’s ‘Hell of a Play’
Payton II’s block on Wembanyama sparked a 19-9 Warriors run to close the opening half to take the lead after trailing 46-40 before he subbed Chris Paul.
“It was an exciting moment,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of the block. “The crowd loved it. It was a hell of a play and definitely got our fans into the game.”
Payton did what he does best.
“I was just trying to get back and help protect the rim and I think it was [Curry] that
made [Wembanyama] re-adjust in [Eurostep]. I knew he wasn’t passing the ball so I just tried to meet him at the top before he got it off,” Payton II told reporters, describing his chase down block.