The Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green has never been one to beat around the bush. The Warriors cruised to a 134-123 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday in their first win of the season — but he still wasn't happy.
Despite some promising signs on the night, the team’s defensive leader, Green, was transparent about his feelings. Anthony Slater of The Athletic keyed in on Green’s postgame comments:
Draymond Green: “When I said we sucked last night, a lot of people blew it out of proportion. Lotta former players who ain’t ever led shit blew it out of proportion. We sucked. We still not very good. But I’ve known how to lead my entire life.” pic.twitter.com/DCNVTo0MvV
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 29, 2019
Green wasn’t just keeping it real. He was pointing out the fact that this was Golden State’s third consecutive game allowing 120 or more points. It’s going to be difficult to win games if the offense needs to score that many points every game.
The Warriors currently sport the worst defensive rating among all NBA teams. It isn’t the end of the world considering most of the team is young and unproven.
But Green—as any successful leader would—expects more out of his teammates.
The Warriors came out with an intensity that was uncharacteristic of the first two games. They moved their feet quickly and stayed in front of difficult assignments like the lanky Brandon Ingram.
Even when the defense wasn’t especially pretty, several Warriors players were willing to hit the deck for steals. It was a bit out of control at times, but the intensity was much better.
Unfortunately, the main thing that Green is probably worried about is their defensive consistency.
There were various instances where some players got caught in the spin cycle of switches and lost their man. The Pelicans put together little runs to end the first and second quarters, as well.
Most concerning, the Pelicans were able to go on a 21-4 run to close out the game. Nursing a healthy lead, coach Steve Kerr hoped to pull the starters for the sake of preservation — but it didn’t look all that pretty.
Green has a goal in mind to elevate the defense of the entire team. The first step of that is to solidify the defense when he’s on the floor with the starting lineup—something that progressed today.
But there’s still much work to be done on the defensive side of the ball.
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