The Warriors dropped their fifth game in a row to the Denver Nuggets. With a new-look lineup and standout performances from Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, there’s still a lot to look forward to from this team.
Steve Kerr said an hour-and-a-half before the Warriors' 131-124 loss to the Denver Nuggets that the team still didn't have a return date for Draymond Green, who now has missed the last two months to a back injury. To add another chapter to their storied history, Kerr's proclamation came at the same time that Draymond decided to drop the news himself.
Green tweeted a teaser clip for the latest episode of "The Draymond Green Show," in which he announced he's targeting a return date of March 14, a home game against the Washington Wizards.
"I haven't listened to Draymond's podcast yet. I'm glad to hear he's coming back on that day," Kerr said with a smile after the loss. "We've known that it was coming near. I haven't talked to Rick [Celebrini] yet. I haven't talked to Draymond about that.
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SIGN UP HERE "Hopefully that's the case. Obviously he's got to get to that point with another week of rehab, and that would be great. We need him."
The Warriors' latest loss, their fifth straight and ninth in their past 11 games, was just the latest example of how much they've missed Green. While their 124 points were their most in a loss this season, they also allowed their most points by an opponent this season. Golden State has surrendered at least 122 points in each of its last four losses, the team's four worst defensive showings of the season.
Without Draymond, the Warriors' defense is nothing more than Swiss cheese slowly molding. With him, it's a a log of chhurpi cheese, making it impossible to cut through.
There have been times when Green has felt like Golden State's healer, but Kerr knows it'll take more than one player to cure all the Warriors' problems right now.
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"He's gonna fix a lot of things, but he can't fix everything," Kerr said. "Our defense has been lousy, frankly, for the last month or so. He will dramatically help our defense, but he can't make everybody make the right play over and over. They have to make the right play, too.
"Now, he can yell at them -- and he's good at that -- and frankly, they need that. Our guys need that, because we have to cut back on our mistakes on both ends. Draymond's leadership will help in that regard, but there's a lot of work ahead to return to the kind of team that we were for most of the season that we've gotten away from the last couple weeks."
The Warriors now are 16-16 when Draymond doesn't play this season, if you include the Jan. 9 contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers where he played seven seconds. With him, they're 27-6.
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In their loss to the Nuggets, they were down eight players including Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and others. There's a reason Green's absence might have been felt the most.
The wait appears to soon be over, a thought that Kerr can't help but smile at.