As the Golden State Warriors suffered a collapse to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, losing 114-101, there is one area that has been hurting the team as they continue to be without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. While the Warriors wait for Curry to heal from his injury, the team has been looking to somewhat keep the ship afloat, but they have another dilemma, as it involves Draymond Green.
The non-Green minutes on Monday night were key for Los Angeles to come roaring back and take control of the game in the final 17 minutes of the game. Without Green's defensive prowess to keep players like Kawhi Leonard and others in check, the Clippers outscored Golden State, 53-30, in that close to 17-minute stretch.
However, the dilemma lies in Green's minutes, as with his turning 36 years old on Wednesday, his minutes are now something to monitor. He averages 26.7 minutes per game, as he played 31 on Monday, also marking the 11th time this season in the 50 games played that he went over 31.
Warriors' Steve Kerr on Draymond Green's minutes
With the problem only amplified with the Warriors not having Curry, the team will now have to figure out how to offset this area, though it doesn't need to be stated, the importance of Green.
“He's still one of the great defenders in the league,” Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. “And he set the tone in that first half, and we were able to sustain the lead for much of the third. But they went on a run late in the third quarter, and cut it to two going into the fourth.”
“But we had to get him out. He can't play the whole game. And he played 31 minutes, which is a lot for him at this stage,” Kerr continued.
During that aforementioned stretch, the Warriors had lost their 16-point lead and trailed by as much as 17 in the final frame. At any rate, Golden State looks to bounce back with its next game on Thursday night against the Houston Rockets.
