Draymond Green's return doesn't spark Warriors in loss to Grizzlies
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Golden State Warriors forward
Draymond Green made his return Monday from his indefinite suspension but he
wasn't able to lift the Warriors past a depleted Memphis Grizzlies team,
falling 116-107.
Green, whose
absence spanned 16 games, came off the bench in the hopes of preserving some of
the momentum the Warriors starting lineup had built over the past two games
without him.
As Green
checked in at 6:32 of the first quarter, boos from the Memphis crowd rained
down on him. The crowd continued to heckle him each time he touched the ball.
Green
finished with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting, including two 3-pointers, seven
rebounds, four assists and one steal in 23 minutes.
"It was
fun being back on the court," Green said. "Getting the chance to play
basketball, that's always fun. It was a little weird going out of the tunnel to
go shoot and do my pregame, but after that it just settled down.
"I
think [the minutes] will go up pretty fast, but until it does I will try to be the
best I can be in the minutes I have and bring a spark to this team."
The Warriors
were hopeful that with Green coming back, they would be able to build off the
improved defensive habits they picked up during the first two games of their
four-game road trip.
But it was
the exact opposite. Golden State allowed Memphis to shoot 20-of-54 from 3 --
the most 3-pointers the Warriors have given up this season -- and go 32-of-40 from
the free throw line.
The
Warriors, meanwhile, hit just 10 3's and went 9-of-10 from the stripe. That
minus-30 free throw attempt difference is the second-worst in a game for the
Warriors under Steve Kerr, according to ESPN's Stats & Information
research.
"[The
defensive plan] falls off when it's about having pride," Green said.
"You have to have pride in yourself as a man, that I'm not going to let a
guy score. But our closeouts were too soft, and rotations were too slow, so
there's just no pride. Until every guy takes pride in them self and wants to
stop the guy in front of them, we'll suck."
Without five
of their top six players, the Grizzlies were playing with house money. And the
Warriors knew that. It's what they harped on during their pregame meetings.
They knew every player in a Memphis uniform was going to be looking for their
shot to stick it to the Warriors, so they needed to be prepared.
But they
weren't.
"Their
game plan was pretty simple. Shoot as many 3s as possible and get into
transition as often as possible," Kerr said. "And then for us to foul
25 times to their 21, that's really the story ... they gained belief as they
went. All of these guys are in the NBA. We tell them that before every game
like this. These guys are in the NBA for a reason. They lit it up from 3. They
knew they had to do that and we knew they had to do that. We didn't play the
game that could keep them from doing that."
The lack of
confidence that plagued the Warriors during their eight-game home stand last
week crept back in. The team has been harping on how the lack of communication
has been the biggest issue. Green doesn't disagree but says it starts on a more
individual level before spreading to a team wide issue -- which includes
talking on defense.
"Individuals
make up a team. Individually our defense sucks, so in turn our team defense
sucks," Green said. "If we got guys that will take pride in
themselves and play defense, one through however many guys we have, then it is
solvable. If guys won't take pride in defense, then it's not. It's very
simple."
Wednesday
night marks the Warriors' 41st game, officially hitting the midway point.
No longer
able to use the excuse of "it's early," the Warriors understand they
aren't in a position to wait their issues out. At the same time, Golden State
has a belief that it does have time to work out its problems.
But how to
do that remains the question. And as of right now, the Warriors don't have the
answer.