Getty/Jason Miller Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors reacts during a dead ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Billy Beane of the Oakland A’s said it best on Moneyball, “There’s 50 feet of crap. And then there’s us.”
‘Us’ is exactly how many Golden State Warrior fans and players feel after an embarrassing loss to the Orlando Magic on March 22.
The Warriors thought they had hit rock bottom on March 20, when they blew a game at home to the lottery bound team San Antonio Spurs. Turns out it wasn’t even rock bottom as they lost to a team that is the second worse home team in the NBA at just 10-26.
“No disrespect to the Orlando Magic, but they’re one of the worst teams in the league,” Green said after the game. “If we can’t match that with them, if you can’t match that with them, you’re definitely not going to do it against a great team.”
Green made a point to say that the team’s subpar performance and the absence of Steph Curry was not too related. Lack of execution and the inability to stay consistent for 48 minutes has been hampering the team from winning games, especially poor performances.
Furthermore, Green went off and gave his most scathing critic of the team for the entire season.
“We’re playing soft,” Green says. “We’re playing stupid. We’re just not playing good basketball. And we’re getting punked. It’s hard to win a game getting punked. That’s kind of where we are right now. We’re losing a lot of fourth quarters. We’re not really losing the whole game, we’re losing a lot of fourth quarters.”
Draymond Green after the loss in Orlando
“We’re playing soft. We’re playing stupid. We’re just not playing good basketball. And we’re getting punked.”
After outscoring the Magic 36-19 in the third quarter and taking a 9-point lead heading into the final quarter, the Dubs execution fell apart down the stretch and managed to only put up 16 points to the lowly Magic. Green was obviously heated after the loss, and wanted it on the record to let his team know.
Green Offered Similar Criticism to Team After Game
Jordan Poole told reporters after the game that Green sent the same message to the team in the locker room that the forward did with the media.
The blossoming third-year guard lead the team in scoring again with 26 points and 6 assists. Inefficiency haunted Poole, as he needed 23 shots to get those 26 points. With the Dubs playing in Miami on a back-to-back, Poole will probably be asked to lead his team offensively again, especially with the uncertainty of which veteran may sit out the Miami game.
Green Takes Some Accountability
The Dubs had a chance to steal the game in Orlando, when Wiggins hit a go ahead three from the corner to give his team a two-point lead with roughly a minute to play.
On the ensuing possession, Green gambled and tried to go for the steal on Cole Anthony. The Magic took advantage when Anthony found Mo Bamba from the corner for a wide-open go-ahead bucket.
🚨 MO BAMBA GIVES THE MAGIC THE LEAD 🚨
@warriors: 88
@OrlandoMagic: 89
12 seconds remaining in Q4
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Per Anthony Slater of the Athletic, Green told reporters as he was leaving the postgame press conference, about that particular play, and how he was at fault.
“By the way, one of the dumb plays is me helping off the corner,” Green said. “Dumb play. Can’t do that.”
Green shows his leadership skills by taking some blame to their lackluster performance. After lambasting his teammates, the ability to admit his own mistakes at the same time only helps Green gain respect for him amongst his teammates.
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Draymond Green Rips the Warriors, Says They Got ‘Punked’