Tag: Draymond Green

Losing is new for Draymond Green, Steve Kerr and even Riley Curry

Losing is a new territory for the Golden State Warriors, even for the players children, like Riley Curry.

Over the past five seasons, the Golden State Warriors have spoiled basketball fans across their kingdom. Now, in 2019, starting the first 17 games with the league’s worst record, it’s a different, almost new feeling when watching the Warriors.

Older fans who followed Golden State’s struggles for decades leading to the arrival of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson might have some words of wisdom when it comes to dealing with a losing team.

However, the once prideful mentality of supporting a lovable loser ended when the team cracked off seven winning seasons with five trips to the finals and three of them finishing in championships. The new era of Golden State Warriors’ brand of basketball has become synonymous with victory.

2019 is new territory for most involved with Golden State, including the players, coaches, and even the families, who are used to the team being perennial winners.

In a recent interview with Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Green shared a story about running into one of the Curry children in the team’s family room after a loss. Curry’s oldest daughter Riley, is the latest searching for answers during the Warriors down season.

“The other day, I was getting them out of the family room after the (Celtics) game and Riley Curry was in there,” Green says of Curry’s oldest daughter. “She’s like: ‘Did we lose?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, Riley, we lost.’ She’s like: ‘Why do we keep losing?”

Although it’s just an innocent question from a seven-year-old, it’s a glimpse into the magnitude of change going on within Golden State.

Curry’s oldest daughter was born in 2012, since then, Golden State’s winning percentage in the regular season was .731, now fast forward to this year, and that percentage looks a whole lot different standing at .176— the worst of the Steve Kerr era.

Similar to Riley, winning in basketball is all Green knows. The Saginaw, Michigan product had a strong high school basketball career leading to run at Michigan State under Tom Izzo, filled with Final Four appearances and Big Ten championships. The same can be said for coach Kerr, another who’s been surrounded by winning over his career.

Kerr played in a Final Four himself at Arizona before winning five championships as a player, and three as a coach.

As much as 2019 has turned into an evaluation year for young players, it’s also a learning experience for Kerr and Green. The decorated duo’s response to an outlier season filled with blowout losses could have an impact on 2020 and beyond.

Steph Curry, Klay Thompson selected to The Athletic’s All-Decade team

Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are three of the best Warriors ever.

As arguably the best backcourt ever, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson will go down as two of the best guards in NBA history.

Curry’s and Thompson’s greatness was recognized Monday by Zach Harper of The Athletic. Harper placed Curry and Thompson on The Athletic’s All-Decade team for the 2010s. Curry was picked as the lead guard for the first team, and Thompson was selected as a wing on the second team. Along with Curry and Thompson, Draymond Green earned honorable mention.

As three-time champions, Curry, Thompson and Green are arguably one of the best trios of all-time.

They’re up there with the 1980s Boston Celtics frontcourt of Kevin McHale, Larry Bird and Robert Parish; the Heatles that consisted of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh; the Celtics Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen; the regularly competitive group of San Antonio Spurs legends Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.

Curry and Thompson are two of the best shooters ever, and both are ranked in the top five among active players for 3-point field goal percentage. Curry has shot 43.5% from the 3-point line for his career, and Thompson has shot 41.9%.

Green is one of the best defenders of this era, and he’s arguably the most valuable role player of this generation as well. It’s hard to say the Warriors would have been as feared had Green not been on the team.

With his facilitating and hustle, Green was one of the Warriors’ most important players during their run from 2014-2019.

As the decade comes to a close, the Warriors are no longer one of the league’s best teams. Next season, though, with Curry and Thompson presumably healthy, the Warriors should be competitive again.

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A pair of bigs could be returning to the lineup soon for the Warriors

The Warriors could get some much-needed reinforcements back soon in the form of Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.

The single best word to sum up the first 17 games of the Golden State Warriors season is simple: injury. For an example of how bad the injury bug has been, look to their past road trip where the team only had eight healthy players against both Dallas and Utah.

Golden State has a hefty lead over the rest of the NBA when it comes to games missed due to injury, but help could finally be on the way.

Draymond Green (heel) and Kevon Looney (neuropathic condition) could be returning to the Golden State lineup sooner rather than later. Both big men returned to practice on Sunday which should come as a breath of fresh air for Steve Kerr’s struggling club.

Green is listed questionable on the injury report for the Warriors upcoming game against Oklahoma City, while Looney is ruled out for the next two games, but the hope is he can return for the upcoming road trip according to Looney himself. Looney told reporters at practice that he wants to get a couple more practices in for rhythm and conditioning purposes.

Looney missed all but 10-minutes of the Warriors season so far after signing a three-year, $15 million contract over the offseason. Looney’s steadily improved every year since being drafted by Golden State out of UCLA in 2015, but this year with the departures of Andrew Bogut and DeMarcus Cousins, Looney was in line to see an increased role.

Green missed the past two games with a sore heel, that’s limited not only the Warriors frontline, but their backcourt as well. Without D’Angelo Russell, Kerr started Green as his point guard on the first two games of the road trip, and it worked. The Warriors won their first game in two-weeks behind a near triple-double from Green in Memphis.

Green’s return should give the Warriors a boost across the board, but especially when it comes to leadership. Golden State’s roster is very young and primarily filled with inexperienced players when Green isn’t available.

This Warriors season has turned into being more about the future than the present, but with so few healthy players available, it has been hard to evaluate. With Green and Looney returning, Golden State’s front office can see a better picture of what the Warriors could look in the future in the future.

Kerr expects Draymond Green to return Monday against Oklahoma City

Steve Kerr said on Friday he expects Draymond Green to return Monday after missing back-to-back games with a sore heel.

There are a lot of players on both sides that are going to be out of Monday’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State.

But the Warriors don’t expect Draymond Green to be one of them.

Green missed back-to-back games with a sore heel, but according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Steve Kerr told reporters prior to Golden State’s game against the Jazz on Friday that they expect Green to be back Monday in time to take on the Thunder.

“The expectation is he will be able to play,” Kerr told reporters in Utah. “To have two days off— the next two days is really important. Rather than chase our tail with this one, we’d rather just take tonight off— that will have given him five straight days by the time we play.”

The Warriors desperately need Green to return to the rotation. As noted by WarriorsWire, Golden State leads the NBA in games missed due to injury. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell, Kevon Looney, Jacob Evans III, and Damion Lee will all be out against Oklahoma City, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman.

Golden State not the only one dealing with injuries, however.

The Thunder announced Sunday that Hamidou Diallo will miss Monday’s game after suffering a hyperextended right elbow in Friday’s loss.

Steven Adams has also been hampered by a left knee injury, although he scored a season-high 22 points against the Lakers.

The Thunder and Golden State will tip-off inside the Chase Center at 9:30 p.m. CT Monday night.

3 takeaways from the Warriors’ four-game road trip

The Warriors only had eight healthy players for a majority of their four-game road trip and were still able to show some fight.

The Warriors lost three-of-four games on their recent road trip; however, not all hope is lost after the team turned in a handful of valiant efforts with an understaffed and inexperienced rotation.

The team played inspired basketball with only eight-healthy players after Draymond Green missed the final two games of the trip with a sore heel, pushing Golden State to have to reach deep into their already thin bench.

Injuries to Green, D’Angelo Russell and Kevon Looney has given more minutes for some of the Warriors young pieces. The youth-powered Dubs were able to battle the playoff-contending Utah Jazz, and the New Orleans Pelicans down to the wire. It was an up and down trip, with a historic loss to Dallas mixed in, but there were still some positives that stuck out.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors four-game roadie:

Ky Bowman belongs in the NBA.

Nov 22, 2019; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr speaks with Golden State Warriors guard Ky Bowman (12) during the second quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Green was initially slated to handle point guard duties with Russell out, but once the former Michigan State Spartan went down, undrafted rookie free agent, Ky Bowman had to step up— and he delivered.

Bowman played 30 minutes per game across the road trip averaging, 13.8 points, four assists and 1.8 steals per game. The Boston College product most impressively only had one turnover in that time while being the Warriors’ primary ball-handler.

Bowman is quickly burning through his 45-day two-way contract with Golden State, forcing them to make a tough decision about keeping him. The Warriors don’t have much flexibility when it comes to cap-space, but Steve Kerr has made it clear he wants to keep the undrafted rookie. Warriors general manager Bob Myers will have to get creative to give his team a chance at keeping Bowman.

Omari Spellman can shoot.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – NOVEMBER 17: Omari Spellman #4 of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans on November 17, 2019 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Another pleasant surprise for Golden State has been the arrival of big man, Omari Spellman’s shooting. Spellman stand’s at 6-foot-8, weighing but has looked like a smooth shooting guard over the Warriors road trip. Spellman shot 56.3 percent from beyond the arc in the last four games, including 4-for-4 on the final leg of the trip against Utah.

If Spellman can continually shoot the three at his current clip, he’ll bring a role to Golden State they haven’t had since the departure of fan-favorite, Marresse Speights. Spellman’s minutes might take a hit when Looney and Green return, but he could be Kerr’s best option to stretch the floor when needed.

Jordan Poole shooting is still a problem.

Nov 20, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) sits by himself on the Golden State Warriors bench during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie first-round pick, Jordan Poole has already had a rough start to his career, and his woeful shooting bled into the road trip. Poole shot a miserable 2-of-17 from three-point range on the trip, bringing his three-point percentage to 23.7.

On the back end of the road trip, Poole was able to knock down a flurry of field goals and even looked in rhythm at times, but overall his ghastly shooting has been a consistent problem.

Luckily for the Poole, the Dubs don’t have many options outside of the former Michigan Wolverine. The only solution the Warriors have when it comes to solving Poole’s shot is for him to continue to let it fly.

After a much needed weekend off, the Warriors will get two home games before heading out on the road again for another four. This time around, the Warriors should have some reinforcements to bolster their injury-riddled roster with Looney and Green returning.

 

Draymond Green ruled out for second straight game with sore heel

The Golden State Warriors will be without another All-Star against Utah, as Draymond Green will miss his second straight game with a sore heel injury.

As their win column continues to shrink, the Golden State Warriors injury report continues to grow. Through 16 games of the NBA season, the Warriors have had 10 different players miss multiple games due to injury, with Draymond Green being the latest.

Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported, the three-time All-Star has been ruled out against the Utah Jazz with a sore heel for the second-straight game, leaving Golden State with only eight healthy players in the final game of a four-game road trip. This will be Green’s seventh missed game of the season, as he missed five games earlier with a finger injury.

The Warriors lead the NBA in games missed due to injury by a hefty amount, but Steve Kerr kept a relatively positive approach to Green’s injury on Friday during the team’s shootaround session in Utah.

Kerr is hopeful the former Defensive Player of the Year will return to the Golden State’s thin lineup on Monday against Oklahoma City.

“The expectation is he will be able to play,” Kerr told reporters in Utah. “To have two days off— the next two days is really important. Rather than chase our tail with this one, we’d rather just take tonight off— that will have given him five straight days by the time we play.”

The injury comes with bad timing with Green coming off one of his strongest games of the 2019 campaign; the Michigan State product had a near triple-double with eight points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the Warriors 114-95 win in Memphis. Green told reporters after the game that the team was starting to jell.

Kerr will hopefully get not only Green back soon, but maybe Kevon Looney, who’s been practicing with the team’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. Kerr said he’s scheduled to speak with team doctors soon to get an update on Looney, Jacob Evans, and Damion Lee.

The Dubs squared off against Luka Doncic, and the Dallas Mavericks, with only eight healthy players, and it resulted in the franchise’s worst loss since 1973. The Warriors will now try to pace Donovan Mitchell and the 9-5 Utah Jazz with rookies Ky Bowman and Eric Paschall leading the way.

Draymond Green ruled out against Luka Doncic and the Mavericks

Draymond Green is the latest Warriors to hit the injury report in 2019.

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The injury bug can’t stay away from the Golden State Warriors, with the latest bite coming for Draymond Green.

After a 35-minute, near triple-double performance for the former Defensive Player of the Year, Green is out for the second step of the Warriors road back-to-back in Dallas.

According to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, Golden State will be without their three-time All-Star against Slovenian phenom, Luka Doncic, and the Dallas Mavericks.

Green slammed his elbow against the Memphis floor late in the third quarter of the Warriors 114-95 win, but that’s not the reason why he’ll miss the Dallas game. Letourneau is reporting Green will be out with right heel soreness.

Green didn’t initially pop up on the Warriors injury report in Dallas. However, Kerr told reporters the 29-year old is banged up overall, and the Warriors would look to give him an off day soon, even if he was able to go against the Mavs.

Luckily for Golden State, Tim MacMahon of ESPN says the injury isn’t severe, and the forward is still doing his regular pregame shooting routine before things tip-off in Dallas.

Even if the news on Green’s injury being positive, the Warriors can’t shake the injury report as they lead the NBA in games missed due to injury and will now have only eight healthy players against Dallas.

Draymond Green thinks Lonzo Ball should have kept championship comments to himself

Draymond Green doesn’t get why Lonzo Ball said the Lakers could have won a championship last season when L.A. didn’t even make the playoffs.

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In an interview with Big Boy on Real 92.3 LA this past summer, Lonzo Ball said he thought the Los Angeles Lakers had as good of a shot as anybody to win the NBA championship before injuries and trade rumors derailed their season.

“I thought we had a good chance, honestly,” Ball said in September. “Looking back on it, we were moving in the right direction and then ‘Bron went down, Rondo went down, I went down, B.I. went down, so it was just like … there was a point we were looking at the stands for people because we ain’t got no bodies.”

Draymond Green, who made the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors last season (and the four seasons before that) thinks Ball should have stayed in his lane, to borrow a phrase from LaVar Ball. In a recent interview with ESPN, Green said he thought it was funny that Lonzo was talking about the possibility of winning a championship when the Lakers didn’t even make the playoffs.

“Recently, Lonzo came out and said, like, ‘Yeah, the Lakers: we could have won a championship.’ That’s just something where it’s like, yeah, you’ve got LeBron James — of course you could have won a championship. But you didn’t make the playoffs. You can’t just come out and say that. Like, there’s some things you just got to keep to yourself,” Green said.

To be fair to Lonzo, the Lakers were two games back of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference before James got hurt against Green’s Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day (and for the record, the Lakers won that game).

That being said, Green is probably right. Not only did the Lakers not make the playoffs, but Lonzo doesn’t even play for Los Angeles anymore. Sure, the Lakers could have made the playoffs, but the only team’s playoff hopes he should be concerned with now are the New Orleans Pelicans’.

The way things are going right now, though, both Green and Ball will be at the NBA Draft Lottery next season.

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Draymond Green says the ‘jelling’ Warriors are figuring out how to win

Despite being just 3-12 on the regular season, Draymond Green isn’t short on confidence. He says the Warriors are figuring things out.

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The Golden State Warriors entered play on Nov. 19 having lost seven games in a row. Collectively, the troops decided that the streak would not reach eight.

By virtue of some impactful performances from Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson III and Marquese Chriss, Golden State was able to put one in the win column for the first time since the club scored a monumental upset over Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers back on Nov. 4.

After the contest, Draymond Green — who arguably had his best performance of the season with eight points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists — spoke with Kerith Burke on NBC Sports Bay Area about the team’s attitude heading into Tuesday night’s contest.

“We came in fighting,” Green said after the Warriors’ 114-95 victory, adding:

We’ve been talking about improving our defense each and every chance we get to step on this floor and, tonight, we really showed that. We got stops to start the game and we were able to get out and push the tempo and we kept the game at our pace.

For the contest, the Warriors managed to hold the Grizzlies to just 40.9% shooting from the field — quite the accomplishment considering that Golden State entered the contest last in the league in defensive efficiency and 28th in points allowed per game.

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As for Green himself, he was looking to rebound from his relatively poor effort against the Pelicans on Sunday.

“I knew I needed to respond coming off the game I had,” Green said. “I played pretty bad and we still had a pretty good shot at winning, so I don’t want to let my guys down. Come out, try to lead the ship and help guys get in their position to do what they do.

Although the win makes the Warriors just 3-12 on the season, a few of the team’s games have been close, and considering the injuries, it’s understandable for members of the club to be somewhat upbeat.

Green sure was, stating:

We’re really jelling. We’re working together, we’re playing for each other and if we continue to do that, we’ll get more and more wins.

That theory will be tested on Wednesday night when the Warriors will be in Dallas to do battle with Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.

Draymond Green has honest and constructive criticism for Eric Paschall

Eric Paschall has turned into the go-to player for the Warriors, but veteran Draymond Green thinks he can be better.

In a season where your record shows the results being two wins in 13 games, you have to look for any opportunity to find a bright spot. For the Golden State Warriors, that bright spot is rookie, Eric Paschall. Of late, the New York native has gleamed.

After carrying them through the start of the season, Paschall has blown away any expectation Golden State had for the 41st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

The Villanova product is averaging 16.7 points per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field. Through 13 games, the rookie has led the team in scoring four times with his most recent being Sunday night versus the Pelicans.

The rookie dropped a game-high 30 points in a road loss in New Orleans and even after he put up a high scoring number, one veteran thinks he can be better.

“Right now, he’s just scoring off raw talent. He really don’t know how to play the NBA game.” Draymond Green told reporters after the 108-100 loss to the Pels. “As he figures out more and more the NBA game, how to get fouled, he’ll get better and better.”

Green knows what it’s like to be in Paschall’s shoes, as he was a second-round pick as well. Green went from the 35th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, to three-time NBA All-Star, signing a $100-million contract. He also has three championship rings on his resume. Green’s laid a solid blueprint for the 23-year old rookie to follow, meaning when Green speaks, Paschall should listen.

“Sometimes, he can get a little lost out there, not knowing where to go,” Green said. “Just trying to help him find his spacing.”

After playing with some of the best shooters in his career, Green knows how important small things like spacing can be to the flow of a team. The fact a player of Green’s clout is taking interest in the Paschall’s game should inspire the 23-year old.

Even if this is just a way to motivate the rookie, it’s still high praise from the former Defensive Player of the Year.

With an injury-riddled roster and the 2019-20 season quickly turning into a development year, Green and Paschall have a lot of time to figure out how to improve the rookie’s game.