SAN FRANCISCO — Thursday night the Golden State Warriors lost a nail-biter to the New York Knicks. Only two points separated the teams, but dominating the glass was the reason the Knicks left with a 116-114 victory. The Warriors were outrebounded in back-to-back games, losing the battle on the board 51-38 to New York.

After the game, Steve Kerr was asked if he believed Draymond Green was the answer to this dilemma.

“I do, actually. Yeah,” he said. “Draymond is a game-changer for us, so I think we're doing a great job of withstanding his absence. Our guys are fighting out there. We are who we are. We're a small team and guys have won a bunch of games since Draymond has been out…I'm not worried about our team or anything. I'm disappointed that we couldn't win tonight, but I feel good about where we are.”

Green hasn't played a game since January 5th, when the All-Star started dealing with tightness in his calf that's caused by a disc in his back.

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The Warriors led the NBA in rebounding a good portion of the season, but have fallen to sixth in overall rebound percentage. Cleaning the glass has been among Golden State's biggest letdowns since he was sidelined.

The rebounding struggles are an issue, but it hasn't cost the Dubs many games. They are playing well enough to be a top team in the league, and that will keep the Warriors in a position to take their time with Green, who according to Kerr is the answer to many of their problems.