Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr on his expectations for the coming season and how excited he is working with this roster of players.
The 2019-20 NBA season was uncharted waters for Warriors star Draymond Green. Klay Thompson was out after tearing his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals, Kevin Durant had departed for the Brooklyn Nets and Steph Curry broke his hand only four games into the season.
Green could feel himself and the rest of Golden State sinking.
"I wasn't interested in the game," Green told The Ringer's Logan Murdock.
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The numbers agree. Green's 6.2 rebounds per game were his lowest since the 2013-14 season and his 6.2 assists per game were his lowest since the 2014-15 season.
The advanced numbers don't help him either.
Green's defensive rating was the worst of his career. His offensive rating was his worst since his second year in the league and his minus-0.2 Box Plus-Minus was his worst since his rookie year.
“It was just a totally different situation that I was dealing with for the first time in my life on top of the abruptness of it,” Green said. “You couldn’t have told me three months before that I would go from the best team ever to the f--king worst team in the NBA.
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"It was frustrating. And it was also a mind-f--k.”
Prior to that season, Green was a winner everywhere he went. At Michigan State, he twice helped lead the Spartans to the Final Four and he immediately made the playoffs with the Warriors as a rookie.
This time, the script was flipped. Teams no longer were scared of a team that Green was featured on.
"You’re walking in these arenas and four years you’ve been like, ‘We’re going to go win,’ and now you’re walking in and there’s actually no chance we win this game,” Green said. “Not only do you know you’re going to get your ass kicked, but the other team knows they’re going to kick your ass and they’re not even taking you seriously.”
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Last season, although he had his offensive woes, Green looked rejuvenated. He averaged a career-high 8.9 assists, upped his rebounds to 7.1 per game and his 1.7 steals were the second-highest of his career. Green was named First-Team All-Defensive after being held off both teams the year prior.
With Curry again playing like an MVP, Thompson returning later this season and the roster looking much more like a contender, Green is ready to again prove his doubters wrong. He knows it won't be easy, but he's ready for the challenge.
"There are no guarantees, but that’s the challenge, right?" Green said. "Can you f--king figure it out? I think we can.
"It’s just a matter of doing it.”