Draymond Green was not put on this Earth to sugarcoat anything.
Following the Golden State Warriors’ Game 4 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night, Green didn’t mince words when describing his performance, per ESPN.com’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss:
Draymond Green sat at his locker, still in uniform, long after everyone else on the team had dressed and left on Tuesday night. Green will on occasion dispute media criticisms, acting as his own, vociferous lobby. Not tonight. “You have a free pass to blast me,” he told ESPN.com. “You have a free pass. I was f—ing awful.”
When you’re right, you’re right.
And Draymond Green is right.
After evading suspension from the NBA for a kick to Steven Adams’ groin in Game 3, Green shot 1-for-7 and committed six turnovers in Golden State’s blowout loss. He is now 2-of-16 from the floor over his last two outings, and each of his past two plus-minus scores—all minuses, obviously—have been the worst of his NBA career.
For the Warriors to escape this 3-1 series hole they have dug for themselves, Green needs to be better. Much better. That’s a generically blanketed statement, but it’s true.
He is the heart and soul of the Warriors defense, the player that makes running small possible and worth it. If he isn’t playing lockdown defense, making shots at the rim or collapsing Oklahoma City’s defense off the dribble, Golden State just isn’t the same.
And over the last two games, the Warriors haven’t been the same. They can now only hope Green returns to his regular-season roots for Game 5 and beyond, lest their title defense, once considered a formality, fade into nothingness.
