The Golden State Warriors successfully saved their season on Wednesday night, with a timely 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. En route to the win, however, Draymond Green was waging a fierce internal struggle just to stay on the court for his team.
In an update on NBA Today this week, ESPN’s Shams Charania explained what happened with the four-time champion that caused him to go for X-rays before the game. Reportedly, he’s been dealing with an illness that’s come with a “hacking cough” and heavy vomiting.
“Vintage Draymond Green, this was a defensive master class. Team sources told me Draymond Green was sick,” said Shams. “He was throwing up, puking all over the place in pregame,” Charania said. “Sideline, in the back area by the locker room. And you could tell that as the game was starting, his energy looked a little low. But that fourth quarter, especially in those final six to eight minutes of the game, that was vintage Draymond Green.”
While Green’s illness wasn’t widely known, there was a sense that something was off. He looked slow and lethargic to start the game, which is unusual given his reputation as a highly active and mobile defender. It was bad enough that the Warriors got his chest scanned, which suggests that they thought it was a more serious condition. Ultimately, when the results came back negative, it was all the confirmation that Draymond needed to suit up for action.
With seven points, six rebounds, nine assists, four steals, and zero blocks on 60.0% shooting and 33.3% shooting from three, Green didn’t stuff the stat sheet last night. In fact, it was Stephen Curry who carried on that end, with 35 points, one rebound, four assists, one steal, and zero blocks on 52.2% shooting and 58.3% shooting from three at point guard.
Instead, Green dominated defensively, using his skills, knowledge, and unrelenting competitive spirit to bother shooters, contest shots, and disrupt plays (game-high four steals on the night). Most impressive was his work on star forward and two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard, who was limited to 21 points on 8-17 shooting. Green later revealed his defensive strategy on Kawhi, which involved physicality to pull him out of his comfort zone.
“He took 17 shots,” Green said of Kawhi after the game (via NBC Sports). “I like that because in a situation like this, I know he’s probably looking to take 20-plus shots. But if I can just get him to not take three or four more shots, with the efficiency that he plays with, that’s stopping ten more points if I could get him to take three or four [fewer] shots. I think that was just my focus – try not to let him get to his spots where he could raise up and take the shot because once he gets to that spot, there’s nothing anyone in this league can do when Kawhi Leonard gets to his spots.”
The Clippers may have been ninth in the West (42-40), but they have the personnel to compete with any team in the league. Between Kawhi, Darius Garland, Brook Lopez, Derrick Jones Jr., and John Collins, they are a formidable team and present a challenge to any competitor. In this game, however, the combined might of Curry on offense and Green on defense was enough for Golden State to pull away and secure success in a must-win game.
Coming off a stretch where Green was involved in countless trade rumors, this was the kind of game that could make the Warriors think twice about his availability. If he can show up and play his best while feeling his worst, it leaves no question about his commitment and dedication to winning. Even at 10th in the standings, he’s putting everything on the line for the Warriors, and it’s paying off with success right when they need it the most.
