Kurtenbach: Draymond Green was a problem for the Warriors, so he became
a solution
Golden State Warriors: Draymond Green’s big Game 5 has the Dubs on the
verge of the second round.
>Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) fights for the ball against
Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox (5) in the third quarter of Game 5 of the
NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs at the Golden 1 Center in
Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay
Area News Group)
By DIETER KURTENBACH | dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News
Group
PUBLISHED: April 26, 2023 at 11:32 p.m. | UPDATED: April 27, 2023 at
3:16 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/04/26/kurtenbach-draymond-green-was-a-problem-for-the-warriors-so-he-became-a-solution/

Draymond Green is a basketball genius and after watching Game 3 of the
Warriors’ first-round series with the Sacramento Kings at home, he came
to an important conclusion: He had been the problem when the Warriors
lost the series’ first two games.

The Warriors’ offense looked better when Green, suspended for Game 3,
watched on TV. There was more space on the floor for Steph Curry and
Jordan Poole to work. The Warriors’ sets and rotations made more sense.
And on the defensive end of the floor, where Green has built a Hall of
Fame resume, the Warriors looked good, too. Kevon Looney and Andrew
Wiggins formed a solid combination.

It was only one game, but the Warriors were better off without Green.
Pair that with his up-and-down play in last year’s NBA Finals and his
preseason punch of Poole, and the future for No. 23 was not looking great.

But with the problem diagnosed, Green went about fixing it.

He offered to open Game 4 on the bench. Warriors coach Steve Kerr agreed
with that idea. And then Green went into the practice gym, working on
the things that would allow him to fit what the Warriors needed from him
on offense.

The Warriors won Game 4.

And Wednesday, with Green beginning the game on the bench again, they
won Game 5 in Sacramento, putting them one win away from advancing to
the second round of the postseason. Game 6 is Friday night at Chase
Center, the Warriors on their home floor with a chance to clinich.

Green has gone from being a problem to being a solution.

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It’s a winner’s move to swallow your pride and do what’s necessary to
provide what your team needs. If we’ve learned anything about Green over
the last decade, it’s that he’s the ultimate winner. The Warriors’
forward knew that to help his team win, he would have to re-invent
himself as a two-way wing — playing on the perimeter on both ends of the
court.

The Kings’ space-and-pace was trouncing the Warriors when they played
Green with Looney. It was a two-center lineup in a situation that only
allowed for one. Putting two non-shooters on the floor for the Warriors
made defense easy for the Kings — one of the NBA’s worst defensive teams
this season.

And with Looney thriving in this series and Green seeking his footing,
it was on the latter to change his game to fit the style of basketball
the Warriors needed to play.

The defense would never be an issue — Green is one of the greatest
defenders in the sport’s history.

But Green changing his offensive game was a big ask.

Green has never been much of a shooter. He’s a passer, screener, and
orchestrator who will only shoot if it’s a layup or he’s wide open, and
the shot clock is winding down.

Looney had earned big minutes. If Green wanted to be on the floor with
him in this series, he needed to shoot.

So he did.

In Game 4, he took 14 shots. On Wednesday, he scored 21 points on
8-of-10 shooting, including a 16-foot, one-footed fadeaway jumper to put
the Warriors up 3 with just under four minutes to play.

The shot had his teammates calling him “Draymond Nowitzki.”

Kerr called it “maybe the biggest shot of the game.”

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“When I came back for Game 4, I finished with 12 points, but I should
have had 20 points,” Green told TNT after Game 5. “I missed like six or
seven layups in that game. I knew where my spots would be and how I
would get my shots in. The last three days, I’ve just been in the gym
every day, working on some cuts, some finishes, some floaters.”

It paid off.

And while this offensive renaissance likely won’t be sustained, the
Warriors will take the free money represented by a 21-point game from
Green. This was his biggest scoring output since Christmas 2019.

“Our bigs need to be aggressive, especially with the way Sacramento is
guarding us — they’re putting a lot of pressure on the perimeter.
Draymond found some openings and attacked the rim well and really
finished well,” Kerr said.

“That’s one of the luxuries of coming off the bench — you can kind of
feel the game out, see what’s going on, and if there’s a need for
something, you can come in and insert yourself into that need,” Green said.

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>Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) celebrates his basket and
foul in front of Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox (5) in the second
quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs at
the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Plenty of doubt has been thrown Green’s way over the last year-plus.
I’ve been part of that chorus. Shame on me for doubting the man I once
claimed had “mystical powers of winning.”

And shame on me for thinking such powers were mystical. No, it’s smarts,
toughness, guile, and — this might seem ironic — self-awareness that has
made the names of both Green and the Warriors synonymous with winning.

Once again, he came in and inserted himself into a need.

“The day you get tired of winning — what’s the other side of that?
Losing?” Green said. “I don’t think no one wants to feel that.”

Especially not Green.

--
Dieter Kurtenbach | Sports Columnist
Sports columnist Dieter Kurtenbach analyzes the amazing and roasts the
absurd in the world of sports for the Bay Area News Group. He was
previously a national sports columnist for Fox Sports and a staff writer
at the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can also be heard on KNBR
(104.5-FM, 680-AM). He graduated from the University of Missouri in
Columbia, Mo., with a BA degree in journalism.