Draymond Green made a telling admission after the Warriors’ shock 114-111 loss to the Spurs on Wednesday night.
Green hurt his Defensive Player of the Year chances. Evan Mobley overtook him on PolyMarket Sports as the favorite. Why?
Keldon Johnson scored against Green twice down the stretch, which set up an epic Harrison Barnes game-winner.
“[We] Couldn’t get a stop,” Green told reporters after the loss. “Couldn’t get into nothing good offensively. Couldn’t get a stop.”
The loss couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Dubs. With the West being so tight, they could drop down into the Play-In and Green knows it all too well.
“We know what we’re supposed to do,” Green said. “We’re not children. We’re adults. Champions. We know what it takes. No need to beat a dead horse. We messed around with the game and we lost. That’s how it goes.”
He added, “There was a lack of grit. Sometimes it doesn’t take focus. Sometimes it takes grit.”
Head coach Steve Kerr wasn’t surprised that the Spurs rallied, since the Warriors never shored the game up.
“We couldn’t contain them defensively and when you do that, you leave the door open for shots like they hit, like the one Harrison hit at the end,” Kerr said.
While Steph Curry sat, Golden State were outscored by 16 points.
“Huge, I thought that was key to the game – top of the second and top of the fourth [quarter],” Kerr explained. “We played two great quarters tonight – first quarter and third quarter and then both of those – top second and top fourth – they blitzed us.”
The next day, Kerr appeared on a local San Francisco radio segment and wasn’t too perturbed by the Warriors’ loss.
“I’d argue we’re in a great spot. 22-7 since we got Jimmy…You can’t let a couple losses dampen the vibe,” Kerr told the local radio station. “You have to recognize the West is loaded…This is competition at its highest level and we are in the mix.”
He continued, “We want the week off, but we’re also well aware that there’s plenty of ways to get through this stuff. You don’t even know how matchups are going to play into this, who you’ll play, how it will play out.”
“I know the Lakers made the Conference Finals two years ago through the Play-In. It’s not like it’s a death sentence to go to the Play-in.”
“But there’s no doubt you’d rather avoid it just to not have to deal with the extra game or two, but also the stress in having to get through those games.”
