Draymond, of all people, is Warriors’ calm voice after Boston blowout as
Kerr explains Brown strategy
Warriors' Draymond Green shrugs off Celtics blowout and has kept
emotions in check since returning from suspension

>Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) argues with a referee after
a foul was called against him during their game against the Denver
Nuggets in the fourth quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco,
Calif., on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Jerry McDonald, Bay Area News Group Sports Writer
By JERRY MCDONALD | jmcdonald@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: March 4, 2024 at 12:28 p.m. | UPDATED: March 4, 2024 at 1:27 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/03/04/draymond-of-all-people-is-warriors-calm-voice-after-boston-blowout-as-kerr-explains-brown-strategy/

The Warriors will look to cooler heads to prevail after absorbing the
third-worst blowout in franchise history.

With Tuesday being the 254th anniversary of the Boston Massacre, the
Warriors will look to put aside a 140-88 slaughter at the hands of the
Celtics at TD Garden as an isolated instance rather than treat it as a
referendum on their worthiness as a postseason contender.

And their voice of reason, of all people, is Draymond Green.

“We’re fine. It’s one game,” Green told reporters in the aftermath.
“This ain’t their first rodeo. They understand. We’ve got young guys
that have been implemented into the culture and understand the culture.
It’s fine.”

The recipient of a five-game suspension and an indefinite ban (which
lasted 12 games) that put his Warriors future in jeopardy, Green has, in
the words of coach Steve Kerr, “walked the line.” He’ll bellow at an
official and take issue with the tactics of an opponent. Then he lets it go.

That’s the same way Green let go of a historic beating that he believed
in no way disparaged a 3-1 road trip that saw the Warriors move past the
Lakers into the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference with a 32-28 record.

The Warriors host the Milwaukee Bucks (40-21), the No. 2 seed in the
East behind Boston, Wednesday night at Chase Center. It’s the start of a
three-game homestand that includes Chicago and San Antonio.

Victims on the road trip included the hapless Washington Wizards and
former teammate Jordan Poole, a decimated New York Knicks squad and
finally a 120-115 win over a Toronto team that has lost 37 games. That
one came after spending six hours on an airport tarmac and changing
planes before arriving in Canada.

“It’s been a long trip for us, especially with the Toronto trip,” Green
said. “But it was good. It’s all right.”

Minus some of the on-court theatrics, it’s been one of the best versions
of a four-time NBA champion, playing as an undersized post who willingly
defends and brings out the best in his teammates.

Getting Green into the paint defensively was part of a pregame strategy
by Kerr that called for their best on-ball defender to back off Boston
forward Jaylen Brown. Brown converted five 3-point baskets in the first
quarter, with Boston jumping to a 44-22 lead and never looking back.

“You try different things. You have to pick your matchups,” Kerr said.
“We wanted Draymond to help on drives and make sure we weren’t giving up
easy stuff in the paint.”

Brown could hardly believe his good fortune at being left all by his
lonesome.

“It’s the first time that’s happened to me,” Brown said. “Honestly I was
a bit surprised. It took a little bit of adjustment. I think we just
took advantage at whatever that attempt was and made the most of it.
Most of the time I go the paint and let others shoot 3-pointers. But if
you want to dare me to shoot, we can do that too.”

If Green was angry about being instructed to watch his man rain
3-pointers like Stephen Curry, he shrugged it off when talking with
reporters.

“He just made the shots,” Green said. “We implemented our strategy about
15 minutes before we left the locker room. It didn’t work. We move on. I
thought it was fun to try. I was actually all for it. If it works, fine.
If it doesn’t, oh well.”

>Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives past Toronto
Raptors centre Jakob Poeltl (19) during the first half of an NBA
basketball game Friday, March 1, 2024, in Toronto. (Arlyn McAdorey/The
Canadian Press via AP)

- REST FOR STEPH

Curry said he had a “bang” on his right knee during the Toronto game and
was questionable to play against the Celtics. He wound up scoring four
points, going 0-for-9 on 3-pointers in just under 17 minutes before
taking the rest of the game off.

It lessened the wear and tear on Curry, although Kerr said it’s not the
same thing as a true day off in that it still included all the normal
pregame mental and physical preparation.

“When you give a guy a day off he gets a day off,” Kerr said. “It’s
mentally refreshing. He’s played so well and for so long this year.
Hopefully this next few days will get him recharged and hopefully he’ll
go out and play golf or something, get away from it and come back
Wednesday night ready.”

Unless the Warriors make the NBA Finals, they’ll be done with the
Celtics this season. It’s a team Kerr believes is the best version of
Boston in recent years, including the 2021-22 team that lost to the
Warriors in six games in the NBA Finals.

“They played a physical style and they know how to space and what shots
to try and create,” Curry said. “It seems like they have confidence no
matter who has the ball in their hands. It’s an identify and a
confidence in how you play ever night. You can feel it with certain
teams, and certain teams don’t have it. You don’t win 11 in a row by
accident.”

The Warriors went into the Boston game having won 13 of their previous
16 but lost enough earlier in the season that the occasional stinker is
a step backward.

“You just have to realize we have a very thin margin and we’ve put
ourselves in a position where we need a full sprint to the finish line
to make up some ground,” Curry said. “Do we think we can get there? Take
it one day at a time and that’s where we’re at.”

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- PODZIEMSKI RETURNS

Rookie guard Brandin Podziemski missed the Toronto and Boston games with
a knee contusion. Kerr said Podziemski will be back against the Bucks
and thinks the rest will do him some good.

“Given where he is with his rookie year, those three days, I think he
needed it,” Kerr said. “He’s already played more minutes than he did in
college last year.”

Assuming Podziemski goes back into the starting lineup, Klay Thompson
will return to his role as a sixth man.

Kerr had no update on Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors starting forward who
missed the road trip because of an undisclosed family matter. Moses
Moody has filled in capably in Wiggins’ place.