The goals Draymond Green set after Golden State Warriors’ 2-0 start
'Hopefully in 25 years, I’ll be in the top 100,' Green said after not
being listed among the NBA's top 75 players of all time
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 8: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond
Green (23) warms up before their game against Los Angeles Lakers at
Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (Anda
Chu/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 8: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond
Green (23) warms up before their game against Los Angeles Lakers at
Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (Anda
Chu/Bay Area News Group)
By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: October 22, 2021 at 5:31 a.m. | UPDATED: October 22, 2021 at
9:53 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/10/22/the-goals-draymond-green-set-after-golden-state-warriors-2-0-start/

SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green is daring opponents to do it.

“Hopefully these coaches will see this,” Green said, referring to his
4-for-13 start to the season at the foul line, “and start doing the
Hack-a-Draymond, so I can get some free points.”

Green, a career 71.1% shooter from the stripe, said he’ll raise his
current 30.8% mark to an 80% success rate by the end of the season. It’s
other parts of the Warriors’ 115-113 win over the Clippers that have him
concerned.

The Warriors were too careless with the basketball and sent the Clippers
to the line too often, he said.

“I think for the most part we defended pretty well. But 18 points off
turnovers, it’s tough to defend that. So we can clean that up,” Green
said. “Also defending without fouling. We fouled a lot and we were
playing against a set defense all the time. If we can stop fouling and
get out in transition like we were in the beginning of that game …
that’s two things we can clean up.”

The Warriors surrendered 10 points off eight turnovers as Los Angeles
climbed back into the game with a 40-22 second quarter, prompted by
defensive adjustments by the Clippers after being stunned by Stephen
Curry to begin the contest.

Coach Steve Kerr said teams will be studying the tape of that quarter.

“They started switching, then blitzing and hitting Steph,” Kerr said.
“We weren’t getting the ball out cleanly like we did in LA the other
night. I didn’t like our spacing. … We’re going to watch that second
quarter very carefully. Because other teams, they’ll watch that and try
to mimic what the Clippers did.”

The Warriors opened a 44-27 lead by the end of the first quarter and
eventually pulled out a win. But Green said Golden State never regained
control of the game.

“We started the game off and we imposed our will. From there, they
pretty much imposed their will,” Green said. “Even though we pulled the
game out, you can’t let that happen. You’ve got to push back. We didn’t
enough to win, but moving forward we’ve got to be better about that, and
that starts with me.”

The Warriors were able to quiet Paul George, which Andrew Wiggins
credited to upping their own physicality on defense.

Ultimately, they buckled down and held the Clippers scoreless for nearly
6 minutes while they mounted a 12-0 run that put them back in control.
Kerr called it the key stretch of the game.

“They were the more physical team most of the night, but that fourth
quarter stretch was the key to the game,” Kerr said. “I thought Draymond
was instrumental in our defense turning up the way it did.”

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Before the game, Green received the news that he and Klay Thompson were
left off the NBA 75th anniversary team, which featured Curry and 75
others deemed the greatest to play the game (there was one tie).

Unlike Thompson, Green didn’t interpret his absence as a snub. It did
get him thinking about the future, though.

“Hopefully in 25 years, I’ll be in the top 100,” Green said. “In the
meantime, I’m just gonna keep building my resume. … Hopefully that leads
to the Hall of Fame. That’s my goal.”

--
Evan Webeck | Reporter
Evan Webeck covers high-school sports on the field and beyond — and a
little bit of everything else — for the Bay Area News Group. A Pacific
Northwest native and graduate of Arizona State, Evan has previously
worked for The Seattle Times, MLB.com and Sports Illustrated.