SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry’s absence will deny the Warriors an opportunity to get in sync heading into the playoffs. Draymond Green’s return, at least, draws a silver lining in Curry’s absence.
Golden State can use the remaining 12 regular season games to become a top defensive team again.
“With Draymond back, there’s no reason we can’t rediscover our defensive identity while Steph is out and we’re going to need to do that anyway, so that becomes the focus for the last 12 games,” head coach Steve Kerr said.
Restoring their defensive identity isn’t some extra-credit side project; the Warriors’ title chances hinge on it. Their defense set them far apart from other contenders during their most successful stretch earlier this season and hindered them when that defense came apart.
In Western Conference with plenty of firepower to match the Warriors, rising back up to the No. 1 defensive team is imperative. And starts with Green.
With Green on the court in 1,060 minutes this season, the Warriors boast a 102 defensive rating superior to the Boston Celtics’ current NBA-leading 105.5 defensive rating. They have a 107 defensive rating with Green off the court in 2310 minutes.
While the Warriors’ collective 106 defensive rating ranks third in the league behind Boston and Phoenix, their 110.4 defensive rating between Jan. 9 — when Green injured his back — and his return on March 14 ranks eighth in the league.
Statistically, the Warriors’ defense is slipping but performing above league average. In practice, the mishaps contributing to that slippage is cause for concern. Lapses in focus, defenders getting easily back-cut, missed rotations and switches
“There were some times when we made little mistakes,” Andrew Wiggins said. “I’m guilty of that too, just falling asleep sometimes. It happens to everybody. But as the games ramp up and as we get closer to the playoffs, we’ve got to shut out the little things out because that can make a difference.”
Green is the head of that snake. A master communicator who can force turnovers in big moments all while directing his teammates into the right position. He emboldens his teammate to defend aggressively by ensuring he’ll be behind them as a help defender and rim protector.
When Gary Payton II returns — he missed the last seven games with knee soreness — he’ll add plenty as one of the league’s best one-on-one defenders and steal threats. Along with Andrew Wiggins, Looney and Klay Thompson, the Warriors will have all the pieces on the floor to climb back into the top spot.
Perfect cohesion and continuity heading into the playoffs may not be in the cards with Curry out — something Green said he was “100 percent” worried about. The Warriors have a challenge afoot offensively; Jordan Poole, Thompson and Wiggins will need to make up for Curry’s loss on the scoring end. But coaches hope to control what they can control.
“Offensively, other guys will step in and try to fill Steph’s shoes,” Kerr said. “We can score plenty with guys we have, the focus has to be defense and if we can lock back in on that end, I have no doubt we can go on a run.”
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here