Draymond Green will not be 100 percent against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. Given stakes of the postseason, though, the Golden State Warriors star is fully prepared to play through the pain of a sore right wrist.
Draymond Green said his right wrist has been messed up a while, he had it whacked in Game 4 and “it pissed it off.” Feels a bit better, but said he’s playing regardless of pain.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 24, 2019
Following Golden State’s victory over the Clippers in Game 4 of the teams’ first-round series, Green emerged from the post-game locker room with a brace on his right wrist. He subsequently told Warriors reporter Kerith Burke of NBC Sports Bay Area that he was “good” and “solid.” On Tuesday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters that an MRI on Green's wrist turned up negative, and that he was “fine.”
Up 3-1 on Los Angeles despite a historic Game 2 loss at Oracle Arena in which it surrendered a 31-point lead, Golden State wouldn't hesitate to hold Green out of Wednesday’s elimination game in Oakland if he was at risk of further injury. The Warriors have taken a prudent approach to rest and recovery throughout 2018-19, and with a commanding lead over the underdog Clippers, currently have every reason to think big-picture with regard to health – especially as a second-round matchup with the Houston Rockets, who pushed them to seven games in last year's Western Conference Finals, looms.
Green, who has a well-documented history of taking his game to another level in the playoffs, has done just that through four games against Los Angeles. He’s averaging 12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks, shooting 57.1 percent on two-pointers and serving as his team’s defensive backbone, though he's yet to find the range from beyond the arc.
Game 5 tips off at 10:30 p.m. EST from Oracle Arena.
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