Three things the Warriors will learn during Draymond Green’s absence
Warriors forward Draymond Green entered health and safety protocols on
Sunday
>SAN FRANCISCO, CA – DECEMBER 4: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) and San Antonio Spurs’ Jakob Poeltl (25) battle in the fourth
quarter of a NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CA – DECEMBER 4: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green
(23) and San Antonio Spurs’ Jakob Poeltl (25) battle in the fourth
quarter of a NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
By KERRY CROWLEY | kcrowley@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: December 28, 2021 at 12:43 p.m. | UPDATED: December 28, 2021
at 1:04 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/12/28/three-things-the-warriors-will-learn-during-draymond-greens-absence/

Draymond Green will miss at least the next three Warriors games and
potentially more after entering health and safety protocols on Sunday.

Green is the fifth Warriors player and third starter to test positive
for Covid-19 in the last 11 days, and while Golden State has managed to
fare well with a depleted roster, Green’s absence will stress the team’s
depth in new ways.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr hasn’t announced who will take Green’s
place in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets, but
making up for Green’s absence and replacing his production on both ends
of the floor will require a group effort.

“He’s one of the best players in the league so he impacts everything we
do at both ends of the floor, so it’s a huge loss,” Kerr said Monday.
“We’ve got a really deep team, we’ve got a lot of guys who have taken
advantage of opportunities this year and that’s what I expect to happen
over the next few games or however long Draymond is out.”

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With Green unavailable and forward Andrew Wiggins “probable” to return
on Tuesday against Denver, here are three things the Warriors should
learn while playing without one of their most valuable leaders.

- Can anyone guard Nikola Jokić?

A three-time All-Star and one of the NBA’s most dynamic players, Jokić
is one of the league’s hardest players to defend because he creates
matchup problems against nearly every team.

With back-to-back games against a Warriors team that will be without the
Defensive Player of the Year front-runner in Green, there’s little doubt
Jokić is eager to take advantage of multiple opportunities to beat up on
Golden State.

The Nuggets center is averaging 25.9 points per game, 13.8 rebounds per
game and 7.2 assists per game this season and even if the Warriors
double Jokić on most possessions, he’s still able to create for himself
and his teammates on the offensive end of the floor.

Expect Kerr to use Kevon Looney, Juan Toscano-Anderson, rookie Jonathan
Kuminga, Nemanja Bjelica and a handful of others to try to neutralize
Jokić, but the reality is the Warriors will likely try to double the
Nuggets star as often as possible and force other Denver players to beat
them.

“We know it’s a big void with Draymond gone,” Otto Porter Jr. said
Monday. “He’s our leader on the defensive end, but I think everybody is
going to have to take another step including myself.”‘

- Can the Warriors maintain their offensive rhythm?

At this point in his career, it’s no secret that the Warriors offense
goes as Stephen Curry goes.

It’s been an excellent formula for success for more than a decade and
with Wiggins and Jordan Poole out last week, Curry scored at least 30
points in three straight victories including two over top Western
Conference foes, Memphis and Phoenix.

One of the primary challenges the Warriors expect to face with Green
sidelined is figuring out who can play the point-forward role he’s
handled so well through the years. Green’s vision, elite passing ability
and understanding of the Warriors’ offense has played a massive role in
the team’s success –and in freeing up Curry– this season and it’s
typically harder for Golden State to create open looks when he’s off the
floor.

With Green out, the Warriors could lean on 38-year-old Andre Iguodala,
who is expected to return Tuesday following a prolonged absence due to
knee issues. Aside from Iguodala, expect Wiggins to be asked to help
unlock the Warriors’ offense as Golden State may rely more on creating
off the dribble in lieu of relying on Green to get the team into its
half court sets.

- Is Jonathan Kuminga ready to take a step forward?

In an ideal scenario, the 19-year-old lottery pick would see a major
uptick in minutes this week and help fill the void on both ends of the
floor left by Green.

Kuminga has an impressive skill set and physicality that’s a bit
reminiscent of Green when he chooses to be assertive and decisive, but
he’s an extraordinarily raw prospect who can’t yet be counted on to
provide much-needed consistency.

Against Denver, Kuminga could draw at least a few minutes against Jokić,
which would be quite the welcome-to-the-NBA experience for a player who
has only appeared in 23 games as a rookie. While defending Jokić is
already a difficult task, the Warriors would love to see Kuminga become
a more aggressive rebounder as he’s finished with two boards or fewer in
eight consecutive games.

It’s unrealistic to expect Kuminga to stand in for Green and hold his
own, but he’s coming off one of his most impressive performances of the
season as he scored 12 points and went 5-of-6 from the free throw line
against Phoenix, which might compel Kerr and his coaching staff to take
a longer look at Kuminga this week.

--
Kerry Crowley | San Francisco Giants reporter
Kerry Crowley is a multimedia beat reporter who has covered the San
Francisco Giants for the Bay Area News Group since 2018. He spent his
early days throwing curveballs in San Francisco’s youth leagues before
studying journalism at Arizona State University. Kerry has covered every
level of baseball, from local preps to the Cape Cod League, and is now
on a quest to determine which Major League city serves the best
breakfast burrito.