When DeMarcus Cousins made his debut for the Golden State Warriors in January after returning from a torn Achilles, the assumption was that the Warriors would regress defensively.

Cousins has never been known for his defensive presence and can occasionally seem sluggish and slow of foot on screen-and-rolls. The 28-year-old has posted a 108.6 defensive rating in 17 games with the Warriors, according to NBA.com.

However, four-time All-Defensive team selection and former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green says that Golden State's defense has been lackluster (to put it mildly) regardless of what personnel head coach Steve Kerr has on the floor:

This season, the Warriors rank 16th in the NBA with a 109.5 defensive rating. This is a far cry from last season, when the Warriors ranked 11th with a 106.8 rating. And it is far below their 2016-17 mark of 103.4, which was good enough for second-best in the entire NBA.

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Golden State has lost a step defensively, but it would be foolish to blame their shortcomings on Cousins. The Warriors rank 13th in points allowed in the paint this season, which is actually a better ranking than the last two seasons.

Although 48 points per game allowed in the paint per game is their worst number in the last three years, the ranking is suggestive of a trend in the NBA this season.

In fact, Green needs to share in the blame for Golden State's slippage on the defensive side of the ball. As of Wednesday, Green's defensive rating was a career-worst 106.0 for the season.