The Warriors have experienced a tumultuous year, much of which has revolved around the behavior of Draymond Green. Green has been involved in several on-court controversies, resulting in two suspensions for altercations that occurred early in the season.
Green has a reputation for his confrontations with fellow NBA players, culminating notably last season in a practice altercation with former Warriors guard Jordan Poole. However, according to coach Steve Kerr in the Ringer’s recent article titled “Can Draymond Green Find Peace,” there has been a significant shift in the past year due to the stakes involved.
“In the past, he didn’t mind getting suspended for a game, and frankly, neither did I. Until the incident with Jordan Poole last year, everything seemed inconsequential… Even when we had our heated exchange in OKC back in February 2016, which was widely reported, it was just a shouting match. I could deal with that. But what’s transpired over the past year is serious. The incident with Gobert, the altercation with Nurkic, punching a teammate, the incident with Sabonis – all of that has been on a different level.”
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Following his December suspension for hitting Suns center Jusef Nurkić, Draymond Green strives to maintain a delicate balance between being a fierce competitor and his team’s enforcer without crossing the line with his aggressive play upon his return to the court. Since rejoining the Warriors lineup, they have achieved a 14-7 record, positioning themselves well to move up in the standings and avoid the Play-In tournament. According to Kerr, Green is successfully finding the right balance in his role on the team.
“He’s navigating that line perfectly, walking a fine line. We didn’t want him to return in a passive manner. We still wanted him to engage with the referees; we just didn’t want him to get ejected. He’s one of the game’s great competitors. So he needs to play with that fire, energy, and passion. And he’s doing just that, but he’s managing the balance exceptionally well.”
Draymond Green and the Warriors are set to take on Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at 10 PM EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
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