Draymond Green breaks down Golden State after the Rockets’ loss

ByNBAUSA



SAN FRANCISCO – The A narrow defeat of the Golden State Warriors 104-100 to the Kevin Durant-less Houston Rockets covered familiar territory. It was another game where the Warriors were destroyed on the board. Another game where they let their No. 1 guard burn them all over the place, in this case, it was Reed Shepard, who finished with 31 points. It was another game where defensive rotations were delayed, defenders were missed, and communication broke down.

In short, it was another defensive disappointment, even if the score and defensive rating don’t quite give it away. I Draymond Green he wasn’t afraid to say it. In the locker room after the game, Green didn’t sugarcoat his assessment of the Warriors’ defense for about a quarter way into the season.

“Our defense is s**t,” Green said. “It’s not necessarily the numbers, it’s like, how do you feel when you’re out there, you know? It’s just disappointment after disappointment; it’s bigger than the numbers. You know what I’m saying? Defense is about attitude. So if you have disappointment after disappointment, it kills your attitude, and then it kills your courage.”

For Green, while the Warriors’ 112.1 defensive rating represents a top-10 defense in the NBA, the eye test differs. The eye test shows that Shepard is getting all he can eat with little resistance to stop him. The eye test shows wide-open threes on snap coverages or ill-timed offensive rebounds. The defensive rating doesn’t show how the Warriors know they lack the “KIP” otherwise known as “Know Your Personnel,” something Curry brought up when they allowed Utah’s Keiont George to hit some easy threes a game earlier.

“It’s bigger than numbers,” Green continued, pacing in place. “What does the other team feel when you’re defending? They don’t feel the force right now, even if they’re stopping you. Like, yeah, we’ve got great coaches, we’re going to have a good scheme, but what about the force? Right now, we don’t have that.”

Jimmy Butler echoed Draymond Green’s sentiment

Green’s assessment of the Dubs defense is not isolated. Jimmy Butler echoed his teammate’s sentiments. Butler told reporters he feels like the team is making things happen tend to themselves.

“We don’t box, we don’t go with the scouting report, we let anybody do whatever they want. Open shots, getting into the paint, free throws. It’s just sad,” Butler said.

When asked what he believed to be the root cause of those self-inflicted wounds, Butler shrugged.

“I don’t know. I honestly don’t care either,” Butler said. “I just think we’ve got to be out there and do what we’re supposed to do as players. I don’t care what Steve (Kerr) says, it’s not up to him and it’s not up to the coaches.”

To make that point, Butler pointed to a whiteboard hidden behind a press conference banner, pointing out that coaches lay out the game plan in a clear, organized manner.

“We have to go out there and execute the man. Don’t listen to Steve when he says, ‘This is on me and (I) have to do better.’ No, it’s on these guys in the locker room.”

Where do the warriors go from here?

Green and Butler aren’t saying anything new when they point to self-inflicted wounds and flat defensive posture. The two said similar things after the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Green cited a lack of commitment to winning throughout the teamand Butler pointed out the effort that comes and goes with their mood. Even when they said those things, it was something they had already said. Just a few games ago, Green blamed himself for the failures defense, and Butler stated that the team needs to find a competitive advantage.

So when asked how the Warriors can find the “force” they seem to be missing, Green said something that has been highlighted before.

“It requires individuals, all of us as individuals, to accept your challenge,” Green replied.

“If you accept your challenge, then you can make the team thing work. But the only way the team thing works is if we accept the individual challenge. And right now we’re individually – and I know everybody likes to twist words – I said we are individually fucking awful.”

For Butler, he pointed out how their hustle and effort seems to be dictated by what the offense is doing.

“A lot of our hustle, and a lot of our everything, is dictated by the attack. When we shoot, man, we celebrate, we cheer, we do all those things. When we don’t or when the game doesn’t go our way, we put our heads down and joke around. And then we don’t give up boxing, we do everything bad. It’s going well, some people call it progress, but when it’s going well, it’s all smiles.”

The answer to the Warriors’ defensive issues may be to muster some resilience when things go wrong. But Green made it clear that he is not the type to lift people’s spirits, his leadership works in a very different way.

“I’m not a big morale guy. That’s not a department I’m selling in. Fuck you,” Green said when a reporter asked how the team would maintain morale if Steph Curry missed time.

“That’s someone else’s area to maintain spirits, I do my leadership the opposite way.”

Golden State will look to improve its defense with a rematch against the bottom-ranked New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.





2025-11-27 13:36:00

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