Steph Curry, Warriors respond again with win after another early Draymond exit originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – There’s a trend surrounding the Warriors that’s starting to become more noticeable than their fondness for turnovers.
With two minutes and 25 seconds remaining in the first half and the Warriors struggling in a frustrating second quarter, Draymond Green received two quick technical fouls for an automatic ejection.
Green was loud with his voice and his hands towards umpire Simone Jelks as Kyle Filipowski, whom Green was defending, clearly camped in the paint beyond the allowed three seconds. That resulted in his first tech.
As Green turned his attention to Jelks, Lauri Markkanen went right past him for a dunk.
Then came the second tech as Green turned his attention towards referee Kevin Cutler, who nearly instantly felt a verbal line was crossed, sending the 35-year-old back to the Warriors’ locker room for the rest of the game. The Warriors’ response on the court was just as immediate.
Markkanen made both free throws from Green’s two techs, giving the Jazz a four-point swing and a 12-0 run. They led 60-48 after the two free throws. But whether it was a fire lit inside them or something else, the Warriors outscored the Jazz 10-5 to end the half and by 21 points the rest of the game for a 123-114 win.
Collectively, the Warriors didn’t agree with Green being tossed so quickly. And they won’t lean into the notion that the team is better without him.
“Nah, hell nah. That ain’t the formula,” Jimmy Butler said. “No, no, no, no, no. We need Two-Three out there. When you’re a man down, you got to pick up everything. It’s generally hard to cover up what he does on both sides of the floor. …It’s so hard to do what he does. But it’s a collective effort when he’s not out there.”
“I can tell you this: You look at Draymond’s career and he’s on the plus side in a massive way over and over again,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr added.
Nobody can take away Green’s accomplishments in a Golden State jersey. He’s a four-time champion, a future Hall of Famer, one of the most unique players in NBA history and only a handful of guys historically can be mentioned in the same breath as him defensively.
The numbers, especially over the last month, also unveil a different picture of the current version of Green and the Warriors as a whole.
Kerr used 11 players Saturday night, and only three had a negative plus/minus. De’Anthony Melton was a minus-3 in 25 minutes off the bench, but he stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, three 3-pointers, two assists and two steals. Rookie Will Richard was a minus-1 over 18 minutes in reserve. Both were in the positive in the second half sans Green.
In 12 minutes before his ejection, Green was a minus-15. Since Dec. 1, he has produced a positive plus/minus twice in 11 games – once against the 12-win Charlotte Hornets, and once against the 10-win Brooklyn Nets. Overall, he now is a minus-65 in that month-long span.
Green, in his last seven games, has been ejected twice and left the bench early in another. He hasn’t finished three of his last four home games at Chase Center. The Warriors responded to his ejection against the Phoenix Suns and were a plus-16 without him. They then outscored the Orlando Magic by 28 points after his incident with Kerr on the bench.
Wins for the Warriors followed both times, as well as Saturday night against the Jazz.
The saving grace one night after a 37-point trouncing from the Oklahoma City Thunder was Steph Curry’s 20-point third quarter, which also was without his running mate of the last 14 years. Curry went into the half with nine points on 2-of-7 shooting and then reeled off his latest vintage third-quarter flurry to the tune of 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 4 of 6 on threes and was a plus-11 in 11-plus minutes to give the Warriors a four-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Fans were in for a treat during that stretch. Curry pulled off both his signature look-away 3-pointer with the ball in the air in the third quarter, as well as yet another triple nearly from the logo.
Trying to get him to pick between the two was like asking him to choose a favorite of his four children.
“They’re both great,” Curry said, before repeating the same answer behind a smile. “They’re both great.”
Still serving a show on a nightly basis, Curry’s longtime coach knows where the credit belongs.
No plays need to be drawn up. Advice would be a laughing matter. Watch him let it fly and reap the rewards.
“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t my play calls or anything. It was just Steph,” Kerr said. “That’s how good he is.
“But again, everything felt right in the second half. The spirit, the energy, the level of competitive fight. You’re much more likely to make shots when you have that approach.”
The same spirit, energy, level of competitive fight and approach must be in conjunction with Green on the floor for the Warriors to ride the momentum they believe they’re building right now. It’s the only way to fight the narrative that matches the numbers, enjoying a win without this trend blossoming into something bigger.
