The Golden State Warriors cruised to a comfortable 136-116 win over the Charlotte Hornets at Chase Center on Saturday, but Draymond Green was a little bit annoyed afterward. When asked postgame about the Warriors’ offensive explosion on the night, Green pointed to the defensive strategy employed by Hornets head coach Charles Lee as the reason for it.
“They’re kind of just leaving us open,” Green said. “They playing all five guys to take Steph [Curry] out the game. So if you drove, kick, everybody was shooting open threes, and it was great. We was able to knock them down, make them pay for playing gimmicky defense.”
The Hornets keyed in on Stephen Curry and were determined not to let him beat them. All that focus on Curry meant, though, that the rest of the Warriors were getting great looks. That led to the hosts going 51-93 (54.8%) from the field and 23-52 (44.2%) from beyond the arc.
Green had 20 points (8-14 FG), three rebounds, and six assists against the Hornets. The 35-year-old attempted eight three-pointers, tied for the most on the Warriors with Curry. Green made four of them and had a warning for Lee when asked about his success from beyond the arc on the night.
“They put the big kid just in the middle of the paint, and so I want that big kid to know, you guard me like that, I’mma shoot your face off,” Green said. “That’s what we say. Also I mentioned after last game that their coach played this gimmicky defense, and I had to make them pay because I’ve seen coaches get fired for playing that defense, and it just doesn’t work.
“So, I’m going make that his reality if they play us enough,” Green continued. “No, I’m just joking. I like Coach Lee. But yeah, I mean, I have to find a way to keep the defense honest. If I don’t keep the defense honest, then that just allows them to load up on Steph even more. And it doesn’t allow our offense to flow properly if I don’t keep them honest.
“And so, it was a little egregious, so I just had to let them fly and was good to hit four of eight,” Green concluded.
Curry finished with 14 points (6-12 FG), three rebounds, and five assists against the Hornets. They succeeded in keeping him quiet, but that is of little use when everyone else on the Warriors is getting one great look after another.
Stephen Curry On The Hornets’ Defensive Strategy
Curry was asked postgame if he was bothered by how the Hornets defended him, and had an interesting response.
“There’s a part of you that fights it just because it’s not real basketball,” Curry said. “But there’s also a part of it that it’s flattering. Just knowing that you demand that much attention and also what it does to create shots for other guys on the floor. And I’ve seen it all, so I know if that’s how they want to guard, like how I can be effective, not let it take me out of the game, but also kind of use it to our advantage as a team.
“And then it’s also funny at times just how egregious it is,” Curry continued. “There’s one possession I’m actually [gonna] get the footage. I actually stayed back in the backcourt a long time on purpose just to see how long Sion [James] would stay with me. So that was a fun one.”
Sion James was stuck to Curry like glue at times. It speaks to his greatness that an opposing coach thinks this is the strategy that gives them the best chance of winning.
The Warriors improved to 24-19 with this win and will take on the Miami Heat next at Chase Center on Monday at 10 PM ET. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is unlikely to use the same strategy as Lee.
