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OAKLAND — The Warriors’ versatile All-Star admittedly felt like a “kid in a candy store.” So as Draymond Green stepped on the court after missing 13 of the past 15 games because of an injured toe in his right foot, he wanted to taste everything that makes him enjoy basketball.
He elevated the Warriors’ defense. He increased their pace. He sharpened their attitude. He yelled at officials over calls. He talked trash with opponents. And most importantly, Green played the biggest part in the Warriors cruising to a 116-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday at Oracle Arena.
The box score might say otherwise. Stephen Curry posted 38 points, while shooting 12 of 23 from the field, 7 of 14 from 3-point range and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line along with seven rebounds and six assists. Klay Thompson added 26 points while going 8 of 22 from the field, 4 of 7 from beyond the arc and 6 of 6 from the line. Kevin Durant had 22 points by staying efficient from the field (7 of 15), 3-point line (4 of 7) and foul line (4 of 4).
But since when is Green’s value judged by stats? He offered a near triple double with seven points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and a whole lot more.
“The initial force he played with early in the game, you could feel the pace that he set and the tone that he set,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought Draymond really played a good game. It was a great positive step back for him.”
Kerr and Green anticipated he might feel rusty after playing in only two games since injuring his toe against Memphis on Nov. 5. After all, Green estimated spending the first 2½ weeks of his absence doing nothing so he could take pressure off his right foot. In the past week, Green mostly enhanced his conditioning through stationary bike exercises and shooting drills.
Against Minnesota, Green provided all of the qualities that have made him a three-time NBA All-Star and a Defensive Player of the Year. He did not appear limited by his injury in 29 minutes that Kerr said was not a medically driven minutes limitation. And though he kept his right foot in a bucket of ice water afterward, Green indicated that had more to with preventative maintenance than dealing with any lingering pain.
“It felt good. I really had no issues at all,” Green said. “Afterwards, I still feel the same. That’s always important. The reason for staying out so long is so that I’m not back in there and we’re chasing behind it again.”
Green did not show much rustiness
Now that Green returned, he did not want to play catch up with his play. Instead, Green forced Minnesota to play catch up with him by displaying the qualities that make him their most distinguishable All-Star.
First, Green accelerated the Warriors’ pace.
The Warriors entered Monday’s game ranked 17th among NBA teams in pace (100.96), which measures the numbers of possessions per game. Against Minnesota, the Warriors had 105 possessions, an extra four opportunities to take more shots and score more points.
On the second play of the game, Green set up Curry for an open 3-pointer. Green grabbed a rebound that set up Durant for an open 3-pointer in transition. Green then grabbed another rebound that resulted in Warriors center Kevon Looney setting up Durant for an open 16-footer. The Warriors had an 8-0 lead with 9:51 left in the first quarter, and Green’s fingerprints touched every play.
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“When you can space around him and make plays on the floor, it was kind of overwhelming in a positive way,” Curry said. “He really pushes the tempo and we were all playing really fast.”
Secondly, Green sharpened the Warriors’ defense.
Minnesota (13-14) may have featured Karl-Anthony Towns (31 points, 11 rebounds), Derrick Rose (21), Andrew Wiggins (20) and Dario Saric (13) in double figures. The Timberwolves, though, shot 7 of 25 from 3-point range, committed 16 turnovers and lost the rebounding edge 49-42.
The Warriors stormed out to a 12-0 run with 8:48 left in the first quarter. When Green subbed out at the 5:47 mark, suddenly Minnesota sliced a seven-point deficit to one two minutes later.
“That’s where Draymond is best at,” Durant said, “when he’s flying around on D and rebounding and pushing and making the plays.”
Lastly, Green elevated the Warriors’ offense.
Yes, the Warriors’ offense revolves around Curry, Thompson and Durant. But it is not a coincidence the Warriors thrived from the perimeter in Green’s first game back. After all, Green gives the Warriors another ball handler and playmaker. Green also provides floor spacing so his teammates have open shots.
The Warriors loved Green’s pass to Thompson
Consider what Kerr called “probably the play of the game,” Curry closed the first half throwing Green a lob. He caught the ball and then whipped a pass to Thompson in the corner for a 30-footer. Thompson made the shot for a 63-57 lead with one second left in the first half.
“Just an amazing leap and pass and the awareness,” Kerr said. “He knew where he was going to go with that pass before he even made it. It was a brilliant play.”
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Green would call the play “fun.” He did not consider the play “brilliant,” though.
“Realistically, I was gassed and had no energy to go for the layup. And I saw Klay open,” Green said, laughing. “Steph threw me a lob. There’s no way I was catching a lob. Klay was open. It’s the road of less miles traveled. One more dribble probably would’ve taken me out. So get the ball to Klay and walk off.”
Green missed the trash talking
A sign of Green’s conditioning catching up to him? Perhaps. That did not prohibit Green of offering his biggest quality of all. His intensity. He barked at teammates to rotate. He yelled at officials after he collected all four of his fouls. When the Timberwolves left Green unmarked for an open 3-pointer, he canned a 25-footer in the first quarter and talked trash to Minnesota forward Taj Gibson. As Green said, “there’s nothing like guys standing there and watching me shooting and make it.”
“It’s all about that competitiveness and that fire, man,” Curry said. “We enjoy it on a day-to-day basis. Obviously when you’re out there. You have to find different things to keep you engaged. If you don’t have energy in a certain stretch of the game and hearing somebody else go on the other team and talking to a teammate, it refocuses you a little bit and gets you reengaged.”
None of this surprises the Warriors. This is how Green plays, after all. During his nearly month-long absence, Green further realized how much he missed playing with intensity, igniting his team and jawing with opponents and officials. On Tuesday, Green scrolled through his Instagram account and watching a highlight video of Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook and Clippers guard Patrick Beverly talking trash. Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas commented, “This is what we all miss when we leave the game.”
“This is what I miss — the trash talk and back-and-forth with other guys,” Green said. “You going at a referee and the referee goes back at you, challenge teammates and being out there in the fight, that’s what we play this game for, to be out there in the fight. You definitely miss all of that.”
Still, more work awaits. Kerr argued that “we didn’t play very well tonight.” He decried the Warriors’ 16 turnovers. He criticized the team for “questionable plays” and “questionable decisions.” Green only described his performance as “OK” and “decent,” and admitted he needs to “find my rhythm again.”
As far as exerting his influence, though, Green only needed one game to do it. Suddenly, the Warriors looked much faster, more engaged and more dynamic.
“Just getting to play again, it’s what I prepare for and what I love to do,” Green said. “To get back out there, there’s always an appreciation for it.”
Kerr has a simple explanation for Curry’s strong play
In the first half, Curry had 13 points while shooting only 5 of 12 from the field. In the second half, Curry had 25 points while going 7 of 11 from the field, 4 of 7 on 3-pointers and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line.
What happened?
“He’s good at basketball,” Kerr said with a smile. “I get asked that every day. I don’t know how to answer that anymore. Nothing he does surprises me. Even on a night he gets off to a slow start, he always finds a way.”
Curry said he found a way by “making the simple play.”
“We were trying to do a lot in the first half,” Curry said. “We had another playmaker out there in Draymond, who was looking to move the ball and get everybody looks and things like that. We were playing really, really fast and excited. We had to settle in and make the simple play.”
Kerr will likely keep Kevon Looney as the starting center until DeMarcus Cousins returns
When it came to evaluating Looney, second-year forward Jordan Bell and third-year center Damian Jones, Kerr sounded unequivocal with the pecking order.
“Looney has firmly established himself as our best center,” Kerr said.
With Jones sidelined with a season-ending left pectoral muscle injury, does that mean Kerr will always start Looney ahead of Bell?
“I won’t commit to anything every single night,” Kerr said. “I’m always going to reserve the right to change up based on matchups and based on combinations. More often than not, he will probably be the starter.”
Looney had two points on 1-of-4 shooting with five rebounds in 23 minutes, showing mixed success with his dependable rebounding and defense and growing pains with his mid-range jumper as well as an airballed 3-pointer. Afterward, though, Looney admitted feeling empowered with Kerr’s trust.
“Knowing Coach has confidence in me gives me an extra boost,” Looney said.
But even if Green and Jonas Jerebko might play center occasionally, Kerr sounded interested in featuring Looney with a Durant-Andre Iguodala frontcourt. Looney has averaged 6.1 points on 61.2 percent shooting and 5.3 rebounds in 20.0 minutes.
“He’s earned plenty of playing time. He’ll be out there every single night no matter what,” Kerr said of Looney. “We’re still learning about our team. It feels different this year I’m not just talking about the center position. I’m talking about different combinations. We’re studying what we’re doing every night and looking at combinations. Those things matter to us so with that in mind, I could very easily start someone else on a given night.”
Warriors named Sports Illustrated’s 2018 Sportsperson of the Year
Back when he was 13 years old, Kerr had Sports Illustrated covers plastered all over the walls of his bedroom. Nearly 40 years later, the Warriors coach considered it “pretty cool” that SI nominated the Warriors as the “Sportsperson of the Year.” They become the fourth team to win the award in what Kerr called “pretty good company, including the 1980 U.S. Men’s Olympic hockey team, the 1999 U.S. Women’s Olympic soccer team and the 2004 Boston Red Sox.
“That’s pretty special to receive an award like that as a group when for 60 years it’s basically been given to an individual,” Kerr said. “I’m very proud of it. I know everybody in our organization is very proud. It’s a great organization and great honor.”
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