For Draymond, indefinitely is a long time

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Indefinitely? That’s a long time. Maybe not as long as forever — which is a notch or two down the list — but long enough. Especially when your team seems very much to be running out of time.

The NBA responded to Draymond Greens’ punch — or episode if you like dancing around the issue — with a punch of its own.

A haymaker as they used to say on the Friday Night Fights, a knockout punch that knocked Green out of the opportunity to play basketball for well,  indefinitely.

And probably knocked his team, the now-bewitched Golden State Warriors, out of a chance to ever again win a championship.

The violation, a term that perhaps sounds more palatable than a blow to the face, came Tuesday night in yet another Warriors loss to the Phoenix Suns, this one 119-116.  

Green’s physical play is what helped make him an All-Star. And a pariah. Tuesday he went hard after the ball, smacked the Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic in the face, was called for a flagrant 2 foul and ejected.

Green has been there before, too many times including earlier this season when he was suspended five games for choking Rudy Gobert of the Timberwolves.

And running out of patience, NBA officials are intent on preventing Draymond — suspended four times in the last nine months, six times overall — from going there again.

In its news release Wednesday, the NBA alluded to Green’s “repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.

Before he’s in a Warriors uniform again, Green must meet certain criteria specified by the NBA.  According to The Athletic, he will undergo counseling — remember the film, “Anger Management”? — that will include Green’s agent and representatives from the NBA and Warriors front office.

It has been the intensity and unhinged volatility that helped propel Green, now 33, to a $100 million contract while in the process of propelling the Warriors to four titles. But because he’s possibly lost a step while losing none of his determination, Draymond is more aggressive than allowed within the rules. He’s now compensating for what skill or speed has been lost by a recklessness that now has him on edge and off the court.

Draymond apologized for the way he pummeled Nurkic, who later was understandably irritated by Green’s battering ram maneuver, but Green didn’t complain. He knew well he had been illegally rough. Now, until pardoned by the league, whenever that comes, Draymond may be gone for a week or two.

Green has been more than a star defender and rebounder, through the years an emotional leader, ready to kick bottoms and kick the team into high gear.

His roles as defender and rebounder, and no less importantly willing accomplice to Steph Curry getting balls into the basket, are to be filled by youngsters Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Immediately after the game, which left them with a 10-13 record, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, “We need Draymond. He knows that.”

We all do, but it’s indefinite when they’ll have him again.

Draymond has answer on how to beat Lakers

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That was a quick answer from the Warriors’ irrepressible Draymond Green on how to defeat the Lakers after having been throttled by L.A.  

“Play better,” said Draymond, avoiding the essay response.

Next question: Against a Lakers team that is not only bigger, stronger, and suddenly realizing its awesome potential, how?

Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals is Monday night, and all the Dubs and their fans can wish is that it in no way resembles Game 3 on Saturday night, a 127-97 mismatch.

Yes, only one game, and with adjustments (the magic word in the postseason) and the Warriors only trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, the situation could very well flip. But that may depend as much on one player from the Lakers, the inconsistent Anthony Davis, as anyone on the Warriors.

And as a reminder, the Warriors, this season on the road have gyrated between bad and awful, an indication this isn’t the Golden State team of the recent past. 

The issue in the sport is being able to dictate the style and pace of play, something the Warriors accomplished in the second game when they ran, defended, and shot with wild abandon (whatever that may be). But you can’t run when you don’t have the ball, and the Lakers choose not to run even when they had it. 

For good reason. 

The track meet style the Warriors prefer becomes the deliberate basketball that the Lakers play so well with AD, who Friday night once more was the monster unleashed (25 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks), LeBron James (23 points), and one-time Warrior D’Angelo Russell (21 points).

The Warriors complained that early in the third quarter that, with the Lakers marching hither and yon to the free throw line, “the game stopped,” which is exactly how the Lakers liked it. That wasn’t the officials’ fault, it was the Warriors’ fault. They’ve always had reach-in foul problems. And with larger, more deliberate Lakers in their way, the Dubs on Saturday night were trying to get physical. 

The Lakers had 37 free throws Friday night and made 28. The Warriors were 12 of 17. Stopped? They could have held a picnic in the interim. Or let the players take a nap.

What the Warriors took was a figurative punch to the gut. Questioned what it was like when the foul calls (and Lakers free throws) were growing and growing, Draymond Green, once again a man of few words, said only, “It’s frustrating.”

Draymond, of course, has a history of drawing technical fouls for the things he says or does so in this case if brevity is not necessarily the soul of wit, it is a brilliant option to avoid getting charged with a T. 

It’s become apparent the 6-foot-10 Anthony Davis is the (sometimes tortured, frequently criticized) soul of the Lakers. When he isn’t injured or indolent, AD is overwhelming on offense, defense, and the glass.

If nothing else, and there is plenty else, he takes the opponents' attention away from LeBron, who even at age 38 is acknowledged still to be the best player in the sport.

You could say the Lakers have the Warriors on the run, but after getting stopped and pummeled in Game 3 that’s where the stagnant Warriors would prefer to be.

Warriors-Lakers: California here they come

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This is as good as it gets for the not-so-late great state of California. Who cares if ESPN is fixated on listing events at Eastern Daylight Time?

Let's catch the last train to the Coast where oranges and redwoods grow and where the former Minneapolis Lakers and Philadelphia Warriors relocated with enviable success. 

Who imagined a few months ago when the Lakers were losing and the Warriors couldn’t win on the road that now in the lusty month of May they would be playing each other here in the NBA Western Conference semifinals, a playoff round as enticing as it should be entertaining.

LeBron and Steph, AD and Looney — and Klay, Draymond, and Wigs. Yes, basketball is the ultimate team sport, but it’s the individuals who make the shots and the difference.

To reprise that so-very-accurate Michael Jordan response when told there is no “I” in team, ”Yeah, but there is in win.”

There’s also an old journalistic idea that nothing is as dead as yesterday’s news. OK, but even moving forward past Sunday’s news, the Dubs stunningly overwhelmed the Kings, 120-100 at Sacramento, and Steph Curry set a Game 7 record with 50 points. In this case, yesterday’s news is going to live a long time.  

What we re-learned from both the Warriors and Lakers, who beat the Memphis Grizzlies, is that reputations as winners are well deserved.

LeBron James of the Lakers has scored more points than anyone in NBA history. Steph Curry is arguably the greatest shooter in NBA history. Two offensive stars ​​— yet in the end the results may depend on defense and rebounding. Or lack of it, which seemingly was why the Kings, after taking the first two games, lost four of the last five. They couldn’t stop Curry.

LA vs SF, initials representing the two cities founded by Spanish explorers. A rivalry of geography. And of pride.

For years and decades, NBA basketball out west belonged to the Lakers, to Wilt Chamberlain (although he did come out from Philly with the Warriors), Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and certainly Magic Johnson. Sixteen NBA titles, one fewer than the Celtics, to three for the Warriors, including one in 1975.  

Until Steve Kerr became the head coach of the Warriors, Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green were on the roster. Then the Warriors added four more titles. It’s a quick turn-around for the Dubs, who must shift attention and style to face the Lakers, starting Tuesday night at Chase Center. 

“We’re excited to have the opportunity,” Kerr said about going against the Lakers. “I think the Lakers changed their team dramatically at the trade deadline. They made some brilliant moves and became an entirely different team.”

“Darvin (Lakers coach Darvin Ham) has done an incredible job guiding that team. They’re excellent defensively. They’ve got one of the all-time greats in LeBron. But a lot of talent across the roster. So it’s going to take a big effort to beat them, and we know how good they are.”

Just as the Lakers know how good the Warriors are.

Draymond: Man of thoughts, words — and actions

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On that podcast hosted by the man-about-town, defensive wizard and too-often controversial Draymond Green, he forthrightly pointed out that most of us — meaning virtually everyone but the players — don’t understand the game of pro basketball.

No argument here. Only a note of appreciation for the fact Mr. Green not only understands but is able to put that understanding into effect.

A couple of days earlier, Friday to be specific, Draymond was paying a price as much for his reputation as for his (shall I say aggressive?) method of play, stomping on the chest of Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis.

And so in Game 3 of the first round, with Draymond viewing, the Warriors won. Then Sunday, with Draymond subbing — he played one second less than 31 minutes and chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds — the Warriors won again, but barely, 126-125.

The first two games were at Sacramento and the last two were at Chase Center in San Francisco. With three games remaining, at max, two on the Kings’ home floor, the Warriors’ dynasty — if four championships in six years are to be judged a dynasty in sports — crumbles but holds.

The Kings supposedly have the edge. What the Warriors have is the experience, the been-there-done-that feeling. They also have Steph Curry, who scored many of his 32 points Sunday when it seemed everything was going wrong offensively, and the bad boy-good thinker, Draymond Green.

Green is not quite the individual portrayed or at least imagined. On the court, it’s true that he goes hard and reckless, fiercely perhaps, but in interviews, he’s calm and reflective. Although he’s always determined to get the proper result, victory.

Coaches and athletes talk about winning cultures, about the old Yankees and newer Lakers. The Warriors over the last decade have established a winning culture. They’re one of the teams always mentioned on ESPN, one of the teams that have earned a place in history.  

Who knows what will happen in the final three (or two) games of this Warriors-Kings playoff series. But it has already been memorable. First Draymond gets suspended. Then in Game 4, which they also managed to win, in the final seconds the Dubs receive a technical foul for calling a timeout they didn’t have — like Michigan’s Chris Webber in the 1992 NCAA final.

Steph did that, but Kerr said he should be blamed for what might have been a costly bit of miscommunication but turned out to be trivial.

Curry reminded everybody of the objective.

“We talk a lot around here about doing whatever it takes to win, and everybody being flexible on what their role is,” Curry said. “It’s just being ready, no matter what the situation calls for, the versatility of our team.”    

Off the bench or in the starting lineup.

Draymond: Off the hook, on the radar

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So, Draymond Green, where have you been? Oh, never mind. It’s all on that tape, which is as big a story as your brief absence. You know how when people leave work they call it punching out? Sorry, which is what you said you are about your recent contretemps.

Some people thought you should have been suspended, but fortunately for you they don’t coach or work as executives for the Warriors. Besides, if you didn’t already know, nobody is supposed to hit anyone, much less a teammate.

Nobody wonders if you’ll play hard. That’s in your DNA. You’d never have made it in the NBA without your passion and intensity.

What has some worried is a few players, one being Jordan Poole, whom you punched in practice, will not feel comfortable playing the season with you. But teammates have battled physically and still won titles. Think of those Oakland A’s.

Then again, that was in the 1970s, before cell phones, items that would provide a literal picture of an event. And before a news service (?) like TMZ, which has sources seemingly everywhere. Somebody at the Warriors facility took that video. On ESPN, Tony Kornheiser called it sabotage.

What Warriors coach Steve Kerr called the punch and subsequent reaction was “the greatest crisis” of his coaching career.

When during that career you won four championships in a span of several years, there haven’t been many crises, great or small.

For certain, Draymond and the Dubs accomplished the near impossible, knocking the 49ers out of the top spot of the TV sports reports, a difficult task indeed.

Kerr, who once was slugged by Michael Jordan when they were teammates on the Chicago Bulls, went about his well-scrutinized business with the determination and irritation of an individual who’s been there and had that done to him.

Basketball is the sport of least privacy. Baseball has dugouts in which to hide; football has helmets to be worn. Basketball is a T-shirt and shorts. Insults — trash talk — are constant. You handle it, or you try another activity.

What the Warriors tried, however, was honesty.

No denials, no attempts at cover-ups. Let’s get this fixed and, as Kerr said, move forward.

Yet if what’s in the news is any indication, that journey will not be an easy one.

The media (blush) isn’t going to let this go quickly. Whatever the Warriors do to keep the team strong on the court, there will be a reference to Draymond Green and his punch.

Either they’ll have overcome that mammoth crisis or they’ll have fallen victim to it.

Draymond insisted when he made his apology several days ago that the punch and still unknown problem between him and Poole was embarrassing.

Both players are lucky it wasn’t injurious, one or both ending with a broken bone, Now apparently all we’ll get is hurt pride.

The punch and the TMZ video jolted the Warriors, a franchise where everything invariably runs so smoothly — or so it seems — like, well, a punch to the jaw. They had to do the right thing as much as they had to do what would keep them winners.

“It’s been been an exhaustive process,” Kerr said of the discussion on how to to proceed. “Everything was on the table.”

Now Green effectively may be off the hook, although definitely he’ll be on everyone’s radar.

Draymond knew what the Warriors needed

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That kid peeking over the interview table Saturday night after the Warriors win? That was the son of Draymond Green. Maybe not quite ready to hold a basketball, but he did bring a few more smiles to a post-game situation already filled with joy.

And more than a few memories.

It seems like only yesterday the offspring of another Warriors player entered the picture. Literally wriggling across the TV screen, Riley Curry kept escaping her father’s arms as he spoke to the media.

Yes, tempus sure does fugit. It was 2015, the NBA finals when the Warriors beat the Cavaliers. Riley is 9 now.

Draymond Green Jr. or “DJ,’ is 5. His dad, stitched up a bit, tough as ever, may have been the lynchpin in the 110-98 win over Memphis that gave the Warriors the Western Conference championship, four games to two, and elevated them into the next round against either Phoenix or Dallas.

It wasn’t just what Green did during the game, his defensive work and passing, as much as what he said before the game, advising interim coach Mike Brown to start Kevon Looney at center.

The Warriors had been shoved around in Game 5, falling behind by 55 points. They needed defense. They needed rebounding. Looney gave them both. He had 22 boards. Remarkable.

“They made it clear they were going to beat us up,” said Klay Thompson, who scored 30 points, one more than Curry. Andrew Wiggins played 41 minutes, getting 18 points and 11 rebounds. Yet the presence and performance of the 6-foot-9 Looney, in place of Jonathon Kuminga — who never got on the court — was the difference.

Looney was a Warriors first-round pick out of UCLA, but injuries (two hip surgeries) and ailments (stomach issues) kept him from becoming a consistent force. Besides, more often than not, the Warriors used their small lineup, the 6-6 Green starting at center.

But Memphis, bulkier and rougher, played physical basketball. Green made his recommendation and Brown, in charge with head coach Steve Kerr under COVID protocol, accepted the plan.

His teammates liked it because not only did they realize they were getting outmuscled but also because Looney, after all his hard work and rehab, is exceedingly popular.

Thompson decided Looney needed a new nickname. “He should go by ‘Kevon Looajuwon,” Klay insisted with an oblique reference to Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, “because he really was a freak out there.”

The leader and inspiration, Green, had a lot of good things to say about a lot of good people, especially those who had been with the team this past decade of success.

“We went two years out of the playoffs, in large part because of Klay’s absence,” Green said. “He’s probably the toughest and most competitive player I’ve played with ... And look at Loon.

“There was a lot of talk in this series about fouls, and this and that should be reviewed. But this was a great series with amazing teams.”

Dare we say father knows best?

Draymond likes his rep, even if NBA officials don’t

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Reputations are inescapable. Draymond Green understands that, as much as he understands how best to play basketball, aggressively, intensely, unforgivingly.

“I’m never going to change the way I play,” said Green in what could be considered as much a threat as a promise.

He was speaking to the media in Memphis, where on Tuesday night in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals he hopes to do what he could not in Game 1: stay on the floor.

Green was tossed, ejected, with 1:18 left in the first half for what was described as a flagrant foul — one of many he’s received over time but in truth was a league response to that prickly reputation.

That the Warriors managed to beat the Grizzlies, 117-116, verified the idea that Golden State once more is among the sport’s elite franchises.

What Green verified was that he remains true to his style and beliefs. “The way I play,” Green said with a softness that belied his determination, “got me three NBA champions, four All-Stars and a Defensive Player of the Year.”

The championships, of course, in concert with people named Steph Curry (he had 24 points Sunday night in Game 1) and Klay Thompson (he hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds). One of the new guys, if you will, Jordan Poole, had 31.

So Draymond did foul Brandon Clarke, hitting Clarke in the face as he leaped to stop a jumper. Then as Green tumbled, he reached out and grabbed Clarke’s jersey, pulling hm to the court.

It made great theater, replay after replay being shown while the officials debated the severity of the foul. On ABC-TV the announcers, including Mark Jackson — your presumed next coach of the Sacramento Kings — didn’t think it was a flagrant 2, which results in ejection.

But it was. Green jauntily ran by the Warriors’ bench, slapping teammates’ hands in farewell, and quickly dashed to the locker room, done for the game.

According to the New York Post, Green had been prepared to start dancing at the call because he thought the Grizzlies would be charged with the foul.

But he was haunted by the past, the memories of Draymond being suspended in the 2016 finals, the one he blew, a 3-1 game lead lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It’s like the kid in the third grade who acts up and then is admonished in front of the class by the teacher. From then on, he’s blamed every time there’s trouble, even if he is innocent.

On a postgame podcast, Green conceded what we all have come to realize, that suspicions linger, and who better to accuse of wrongdoing than the serial wrongdoer.

“If you’re involved in this play,” Green conceded on the podcast, “you probably shouldn’t dance. You should expect the unexpected.” A very good point by a man who, before he was ousted, got six points.

“We went through the definition of a flagrant 2 foul,” said Green. “I’m not sure that play would quite fit the definition of a flagrant 2 foul. I’m not sure it’ll meet that criteria.”

Apparently, it meets whatever criteria the NBA decides.

“Let me say reputations are earned,” said Draymond. “I love my reputation. It made me who I am in the NBA. Coming from a 35th pick who they said would never play a day. So I appreciate my reputation, in the NBA, well, here I am on TV in your living room; you come to games. I’m not one to shy away from it.”

As NBA officials are only too aware.

Warriors’ Big Three bring nostalgia and talent

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The head coach, Steve Kerr, called it a good lineup. Let’s do him better. It’s a great lineup, a lineup that features three of basketball’s best the past few years, a lineup that unfortunately hasn’t been together much this season

A lineup that was on court Saturday night in a reminder and rejuvenation, when the Warriors pounded the Denver Nuggets, 123-107, winning game one of the playoffs.

A lineup that surely will be used Monday night when the Warriors, again playing at Chase Center, hope to hold on to their home court advantage.

A lineup bringing together nostalgia and talent.

Jordan Poole, the almost new guy, was — well, is brilliant too strong a word? — dominant with 30 points. And Kevon Looney, hardly a stranger, was the defender and rebounder he’s required to be.

Still, what was joyful, as well as successful, was having three of the old favorites return and work together as they did in the not-so-distant vintage years.

There they were, Steph Curry (you knew he would be playing despite being out the last few weeks with that ankle injury); Klay Thompson (after all he went through missing two straight seasons, he wasn’t going to miss this chance; and Draymond Green (whose absence for several weeks because of an injury was noticeable).

Our athletic heroes come and go with alarming speed. Buster Posey was a rookie yesterday, or so it seems, and now he has retired. Serena Williams is done. There’s always a new kid on the block. So appreciate what we have until we no longer have it.

Who knows how far the Warriors will go this season? The Suns finished with a far better record. Curry, echoing the thoughts of those who feel disrespected and unappreciated, complained before the post-season began.

“Nobody is picking us to come out of the west," he said. "At least I don't think, except our families.” Which is understandable. The Dubs had too many people hurt.

Now the injured are back. Now it’s a page from the past. Except the Warriors are older, and there are numerous younger guys, ready to move in. It’s the nature of sport. And life.

Steph, Klay and Draymond are still around, however, giving their all and giving us an opportunity. Five years from now, we’ll reminisce, and then realize what we had — if we haven’t realized it already.

“It’s very special,” Thompson said of working his way back and reuniting with the other two — and returning to the playoffs.

“I thought about all the days in the gym.” Thompson said of his long rehabilitation, “in the doctor’s office, on the surgery table, and just be flying up and down the court, be knocking shots down and playing solid defense.

“It was a surreal moment for me, and to do it in front of the crowd we had, I give Dub nation amazing credit. They were so loud as we ran through the tunnel. Just something I won’t take for granted, just being able to play basketball. It was very surreal to me.”

For the rest of us, it was actual and wonderful. We hear and read negative things about athletes, so to hear Thompson and his teammates relish what they have is reassuring.

That the Big Three have teamed to win championships is not to be underestimated. That’s the essence of their popularity. But there’s more.

They’ve won hearts as well as games. One is just as important as the other. Watch and enjoy.

Now Warriors face the L.A. team without celeb fans

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So big an emotional swing in so short a time.

The prelude to the Warriors’ opener was all about the other team, understandable perhaps because the other team is Hollywood’s team, the Lakers.

Everyone was calling them the “new-look” Lakers.

As they used to say in the old movies, “Hello, sweetheart. Give me a rewrite.”

Or if you’re the Lakers, “Give me some baskets at crunch time.”

Only one game. But in the great scheme of California things, including rivalries and Bay Area paranoia, a very big game.

A game in the right direction. A game the Warriors won, 121-114. A game that allowed Warriors coach Steve Kerr to observe, “We could be a good team.”

More on that possibility will be available when the Warriors play their first home game of the 2021-22 season on Thursday night at Chase Center.

It’s against the other L.A. team, the one with less hype, no championships and without Jack Nicholson, Adele or other celebrity fans — the Clippers. 

Will the Lakers, Russell Westbrook joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis, develop into the great team that some have predicted? And will the Warriors surprise us pessimists? Indeed, one game is of little indication.

Yet the simple fact that the Dubs outscored the Lakers in the fourth quarter — remember those depressing days when Kobe or Magic or Shaq would own the closing minutes? — had to be uplifting.

After the Dodgers ousted the Giants in the playoffs (never mind what they’re doing against the Braves) and the Rams moved ahead of the 49ers in the standings, the Lakers were going to make it a SoCal sweep. NorCal was nowhere.

Then, even playing poorly, somehow the Warriors defeated the Lakers in Los Angeles.

That was without Klay Thompson, who we’re told, after two years of recovery and rehab from those injuries to his knee and Achilles tendon, will play in November.

The litany is that basketball is the ultimate team game. Yet, winning and losing depends on an individual, on LeBron for the Lakers or Steph Curry for the Warriors.

They so often get the big basket or rebound. Or steal.

Curry, however, was not at his best on Tuesday. “I played like trash tonight,” he told TNT. OK, but it was the kind of trash that produced Steph’s first triple double in five seasons, 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

“He really only cares about the win,” said Kerr. “Steph always comes back with a good game.”

Said Draymond Green, still the rock on defense, about the win even with Curry’s off-night, "It's a huge lift. We relied on him so much, and we're still going to rely on him a lot.

“When he can have a night like he did tonight, not get it going, we still come out with a win, that's great. 

The Warriors struggled early because Kerr chose to go with his so-called small lineup, which proved disadvantageous against the taller Lakers (the 7-foot Davis, the 6-9 James), if not disastrous.

“We’re still learning each other,” said Kerr. “Do we want to go big and get the glass, or do we want to play small and spread the court? As the seasons goes, we’ll figure it out.”

What pleased Kerr was the decline in fouls from last season when the Warriors had the highest number in the NBA, many from reach-ins. “Our defense was fine,” said Kerr.

That was the reason the Warriors came back in the second half. Defense was what propelled the Dubs to three titles and five straight appearances in the NBA finals.

Those days are gone. The Warriors are working for a return.

Draymond is the one who makes that difference

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By Art Spander

The best defensive player in the world. Steve Kerr said that about Draymond Green. Of course it’s an exaggeration, but this is an era of exaggeration, and if anybody is going tell us that it would be Kerr, who is Green’s coach with the Warriors.

And if anybody deserves that compliment, that exaggeration, it’s Green.

“There’s no sport where one player makes that much of a difference.” So said Chris Mullin, the Hall of Famer who once made a difference for the Warriors in the 1980s and now does their pre- and post-game TV.

That comment is not an exaggeration. It’s the truth.

In football, a player is 1/11th of the lineup; well, 1/22nd, considering offense and defense are separate units; in baseball, one-ninth; in basketball, one-fifth. But numbers alone are inadequate.

Even those of the win streak that the Warriors carry into Wednesday night against the Clippers at Chase Center. Two games.

A trifle compared to the 24 in a row that opened the 2015-16 season. Yet after an 0-2 start to the schedule, a bit of reassurance.

The Warriors have spent time practicing. James Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in the November NBA draft, has spent time improving. Steph Curry has spent time making most of his shots. Green has spent time reminding everyone how much he was missed when absent because of a sore foot.

“He’s kind of our point forward in many ways,” said Kerr, “and the leader of the team.”

That last part is no exaggeration.

Curry is the headliner, the one who gets the points — 62 two games ago — and, with two MVP awards, the most attention. Think of the Dubs, and you cannot think of anyone but Steph. 

Wiseman is the comer, and his progress, with only three college games and then months of relative inactivity, has been tantalizing. When this kid learns the game, others will learn what he’s about to become: one of the greats.

Andrew Wiggins is the mystery, the first man taken in the 2014 draft but who has been twice traded and frequently criticized for being more unpredictable than reliable. Ah, but maybe this is his spot and his year.

Damion Lee, Eric Paschal, Kelly Oubre, Kent Bazemore and Kevon Looney are among the pieces on the roster.

Green is the feisty, experienced and wise guy who has to make certain those many pieces fit properly.

“He impacts the game so dramatically on defense,” Kerr said of Green’s play after the Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings, 137-106, Monday night. “And then on offense he gets us organized.” 

In those recent glory days when Kevin Durant was around, and Klay Thompson was healthy and Andre Iguodala was anywhere he needed to be, Draymond got what was coming to him — NBA Defensive Player of the Year in ’17 — and made sure teammates got the ball.

There were incidents, the scuffle with LeBron James, then of Cleveland, and suspension in the 2016 finals; the argument with teammate Durant in November 2018. Nothing that would keep Draymond from his role.

Those days, five straight finals, three titles, are gone. So, through injuries (Thompson) or personnel movement, are most of the men from those teams, other than Green, who will be 31 in March, and Curry, who will be 33 also in March.

A feeling of familiarity. A need for adaptation.

“They know each other so well,” Kerr said of Green and Curry. “So their pick-and-roll game is beautiful to watch with their hand-backs. And Draymond understands how to get (Curry) open. Our defense gets a lot better with Draymond on the floor. Steph gets more transition opportunities as well.”

Then there are the other Warriors who leave Green uncertain.

“There are times out there,” Green confessed, “where I’m out there on the floor and I don’t know where to go because we’re all figuring each other out. So it’s important we get that movement, and even as important that I’m directing that movement and helping guys get that understanding.”

The best defensive player in the world seems as capable with the ball as without it.

Then Draymond came back in

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SAN FRANCISCO — Then Draymond came back in. Alec Burks said it. An All-Star is supposed to make a difference, right? And Draymond Green, All-Star, emotional leader, has made a difference, in games that have become so much a part of the Warriors’ legacy.

Or, as on Monday night, in a game less consequential, other than it was responsible for the first two-game win streak of a season now finding itself.

Yes, two in a row, which compared to those glory days a few seasons past, the 24 straight victories early in the 2015 season, seems almost unworthy of being mentioned.

But that was then, and this is now, the tumult and frustration without the departed (and hurt) Kevin Durant and the still present but equally injured Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.

No Kevin, no Steph, no play. But plenty of Draymond. And with the 113-104 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves, a second win in a row.

Which most likely is as far as it goes, since next under the tree is the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day.

“We need this regardless of what is coming next,” said Steve Kerr, the Warriors’ coach. “We just needed to win a couple games in a row to get a little momentum and feel good.”

It was the mediocre Timberwolves, having cut a 24-point third-quarter deficit to six points with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, who had the “mo.”

“Then,” said Burks, “Draymond came back in and got D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell) a shot. We were just playing out of character, and they went on a couple of runs, which allowed them to come back.”

But only so far.

Burks, a guy who’s been tossed around the league — the Warriors are his fourth teams in eight seasons — has been making his points, literally (25 Monday night) and symbolically (his observations). He talks quickly and softly, but his words, like his shots, hit the mark.

“I think my teammates are putting me in the right position,” he said about his ability to score, “and Steve (Kerr) is trusting me to have the ball in my hand and make plays for myself and others.”

One of those others is Russell, who had 30 points. People knew D-Lo could score and, finally healthy, he is proving people correct. The question now is how D-Lo and Curry, who is supposed to be back in late February, will pair together. Maybe not the Splash Brothers redux, but perhaps there will be a lot of water flying and baskets dropping.  

Curry, his left hand in that cast, and Thompson, recovering from the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg, both were at Chase Center with their teammates Monday night, although unable to play.

“Just having their presence, especially for the young guys,” Green said of the contributions from Curry and Thompson at games or practice.

“Those (young) guys haven’t been around as much. I’ve always said when you’re hurt, you’re just not a part of the team. These young guys look up to them. They are legends, superstars, heroes to some of these young guys.”

So too is Green. At the moment, Andre Iguodala, Shawn Livingston and Durant gone, Curry and Thompson rehabbing, Draymond is the only player on the Warriors still active from the teams in five straight NBA finals.

He hectors teammates, yells at officials and keeps believing.

“I think our younger guys are getting some experience,” Green said about the improved defense. “Starting to figure out rotations, and that makes a difference.”

Green was enthusiastic about the inside play of center Willie Cauley-Stein, who had three blocked shots Monday night. “He made several plays tonight at the rim,” Green said of Cauley-Stein, “giving us the spark (on defense) he also gives us on offense. The way he runs the runs the floor, like the play he got the block and then sprinted out and got the dunk.”

So Draymond, how does it feel to win two in a row? “It feels bleeping amazing,” he all but shouted. “I never thought I’d be so excited for two regular season wins in my life.”

Green takes the floor on Warriors media day

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By Art Spander
For Maven Sports

SAN FRANCISCO — He’s not afraid to defend LeBron. He’s not afraid to take a shot when the clock is running down. So why should Draymond Green be afraid to speak from the heart, a characteristic that doesn’t make him much different than others in his sport?

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2019, The Maven 

Of moonshots, awards, Draymond and a Warriors win

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By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — Steph doesn’t believe America ever made it to the moon. Yes, Mr. Curry, who launches his own figurative moonshots, said he doubts the United States reached the lunar surface.

Just like the movie, “Capricorn One,” starring, back in the days before he went on trial and to prison, O.J. Simpson.

The film was built on skepticism, that what we saw on TV one July day in 1969, Neil Armstrong strolling on the moon, was in fact a video fraud, created on a sound stage in Hollywood.

That was long before Steph was born, but on a podcast with some other NBA types the other day, Curry just happened to ask, “We ever been to the moon?” Others on the panel, including technologically minded Andre Iguodala, answered in unison, “No.”

The guess is they were joking. But there’s no joking about Curry’s game. On Monday night, with the Warriors back to the Oracle after a five-game road trip, and with Draymond Green back in the lineup, Curry was back to, well, being Curry.

He started slowly, missing six of his first nine shots, but by the end he had 38 points, and the Warriors, whole again and roiling again, had a 116-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, their fourth in a row.

“He’s good at basketball,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr wonderfully understated when asked to describe Curry. “I get asked that every day, and I don’t know how to answer it anymore. Nothing he does surprises me. I guess I can say that. Even on a night he gets off to a slow start, he always finds a way.”

These are heady times for a notable team, a team — as Curry said, “is as close to full strength as we’ve been all year” — that has been chosen as Sports Illustrated’s “Sports Person of the Year,” even though it is not one person but many.

In the 65 occasions since the award was given, beginning with Roger Bannister in 1954, a team has been chosen four times — the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey champs; the 1999 U.S. women’s World Cup champs; the 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series winners; and now the Dubs.

“For all the individual brilliance of Steph Curry — a selection whom few would have protested — the Warriors have always been most delightfully viewed through a collective prism,” said Sports Illustrated.

“There have been superteams that have forced us to reimagine how the game is played, but none perhaps in a generation, maybe two, are so beautifully choreographed as the Warriors. At the Dubs’ most golden, their movements and pieces seamlessly blur into each other to the point where it impossible to distinguish the magic of one player from another, even magic so singular as that of Curry or KD.” 

In the blur Monday night, KD, Kevin Durant, had 22 points and Klay Thompson had 26. And Draymond Green, out the previous 11 games because of a right toe sprain, had 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 points.

The Warriors agreed that Green’s return brought revitalization. So did Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau, who insisted, “I’ve always said this about Draymond: he’s probably the most unique player in the league in terms of what he means to this team.”

What the team, the game of basketball, means to Draymond is clear.

“I miss the trash talking,” said Green, “the getting on the court. I felt like a kid in a candy store. That’s what we all miss when we leave the game, yelling at the guys, the refs.”

Asked his favorite play of the night, Green said it was just before the half. He took a pass, “but I was gassed. Not interested in going for a layup. I saw Klay was open. So I took the road less traveled. One more dribble probably would have taken me out.”

Durant said what he noticed with Draymond again in the lineup was not any disagreement such as the one when Green yelled at Durant to pass and Durant did not, but Draymond pushing the ball up and talking defense.

Four All-Stars once more together, one common goal.

“I think we play with a faster pace,” Kerr said, talking about how Draymond improves the Warriors. “That’s the main thing. He gives us a different dimension. I think we’re going to get much better. It was a good first step.”

You might say a small step for man, but not if you didn’t think we ever got to the moon. Come on, Steph.

No panic visible from Warriors; is it hidden by the smoky air?

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By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — You stop by Warriors practice and expect to see a lot of panic — that is, if panic is visible through the smoky, unhealthy air — but you’re disappointed.

There’s Kevin Durant, ignoring his $25,000 fine for “directing inappropriate language toward a fan” in Dallas and ignoring the media, popping jumper after jumper.

There’s Steph Curry, who seemingly is unable to stand up and definitely won’t be in Wednesday night’s game against Oklahoma City, bouncing balls off his head in a soccer routine.

And there’s head coach Steve Kerr, loser of three in a row for the first time since who knows when, sitting behind a microphone and in front of the cameras, and handling every question the way his team of late has not been handling the basketball: smoothly.

For the Warriors, this was the week when if the sky didn’t fall it sank a little, unlike the Warriors' field goal attempts at San Antonio. When the façade of love and understanding had a few holes. When Kerr, who Tuesday pointed out he was trying to defuse the situation with his comment, saying, “This is the real NBA.”

The league of big men and big egos, of small mistakes that decide games, of teams so balanced that a good shot or a bad bounce is often the difference in a game — although it’s invariably the better team that makes the good shot.

“We haven’t been in the real NBA the past couple of years,” was Kerr’s addition to the opening statement, after the defeat at San Antonio on Sunday night. “We’ve been in this dream, and now we’re faced with adversity.”

Meaning the groin injury to Curry, who when he's on the court can decide any game from any distance; meaning the toe injury to Draymond Green, of whom Kerr said, “This guy’s been so good; we’re not hanging any banners without him.” Meaning, certainly, the feud (or dust-up, or contretemps, if you will) between Green and Durant in L.A. a week ago. Meaning the frequent references to Durant’s impending free agency and rumored departure to the Knicks, or worse, the Lakers.

Sometimes the best view is from a distance.

Marc Stein, the longtime NBA observer now writing his perceptions for the New York Times, said, “Crisis is probably too strong a word, given that they remain prohibitive favorites to win the championship in June, but the Warriors have been undeniably wounded by a spate of injuries and last week’s sideline spat between All-Star forwards Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.”

The injuries will heal, or at least one expects them to heal, but who knows about the rift? Nobody on the Warriors wants to discuss it.

“Don’t ask me that again,” Durant responded to the San Jose Mercury News’ Mark Medina after the loss against Houston in the opener of the lose-them-all three-game trip in Texas. So nobody did. From the Bay Area media.

But when the Dubs hit the road again, Durant will be hit by that question again, whether it’s unfair or not. The subject is out there, and it’s not going to go away, until — Warriors fans, take a deep breath — Kevin goes away.

This is November, miles away from the playoffs. And from the end of Durant’s contract. What the Warriors need at the moment is to play the defense they have been playing and the offense they haven’t been — at least in getting routed by Milwaukee at home and being held to 92 points in San Antonio.

“Without Steph and Draymond,” said Kerr, “we can’t get away with things we do when we have them. We were 10-1. Last year, we were the best team defensively of any in the playoffs.

“We have been on a run over a four-year stretch. Nobody ever won as many games as we have the last four years. There’s been a lot of things going right for us.”

Right now, they’re going quite wrong.

Durant on dust-up with Draymond: ‘Spit happens in the NBA’

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By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant, who often has the answers, this time had a question. “Anyone want to ask about basketball?” he wondered, his words paced as if trying to run down the clock.

Not on this Tuesday night, not after this game, when it wasn’t so much the men who were in the lineup for the Warriors for their 110-103 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

But the man who wasn’t, Draymond Green.

Oh, he was in the lineup of the game notes on the press table, that document having been created before Warriors management, specifically general manager Bob Myers and head coach Steve Kerr, suspended Green for a non-punch dust-up with Durant after Monday night’s loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles.

But by game time Tuesday, when as proclaimed by the badges worn by some Warriors employees — none of them players — the Dubs recorded their 300th straight Oracle sellout, Draymond was not even in the building.

A little reprimand for the team’s emotional leader — as well as the loss of a day’s salary, roughly $120,000. ”I think what will be the hardest thing for him,” Myers said, “is not playing basketball (Tuesday) night.”

Myers, who played at UCLA and then was a players’ agent before he became the Warriors' GM, reminded, “Basketball is an emotional sport. These things happen.”

That they happened between Green, who has his fiery moments, and Durant, who at the end of the season will be a free agent and might be leaving for the New York Knicks, makes the incident more compelling. That’s two-fifths of a starting five from a franchise trying to win a third straight NBA title.

“I’m trying to move on,” said Durant. “Once the ball is tipped, nothing else matters. I think that’s the approach everyone takes. I want to keep this in house. I’m not trying to give nobody no headlines.”

What he was trying do Monday, in L.A., in the dying seconds of regulation, was get the ball from Green, who was bringing it down court and then let it slip away.

On Tuesday, Durant had more than enough, scoring a game-high 29 points, though he made only 9 of 23 field goal attempts. "Just night in and night out, you can pretty much mark down 25-30 points,” Kerr said about Durant, “whether he shoots the ball well or not. Because he’s going to get to the line.” Where he was 11 for 11.

Asked if he was surprised by Green’s suspension, Durant, in a classic sports response, said, “I was just focused on the game. I didn’t care either way.”

Durant and Green did not communicate Tuesday, but the Warriors leave Wednesday for Houston. Both KD and Draymond will be on the same plane, in the same hotel and on the same court.

“His presence has been part of this team for a while before I got here,” Durant said of Green. “He has been a huge staple in the organization. But that’s what happens in the NBA. Spit happens. I just try my best to move on and be a basketball player. I got nothing else to do but be the best player I can be every single day.”

As Quinn Cook, who started at guard in place of the injured Steph Curry, pointed out, “I think we’re all professionals. We love each other. We’re together eight months a year. We’re like brothers. Brothers fight. We have a common goal. We’re going to get past this.”

Jonas Jerebko started in place of the absent Green, scoring 14 points, making four three-pointers and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. “Jonas was great,” said Kerr, who was going to praise the man whether or not he deserved it — and he deserved it. “He was our MVP tonight.”

Klay Thompson got 24 points, as well as some observations. “We just want to play basketball,” he said. “This game wasn’t about what happened (Monday) night. We wanted to put on a show for the fans. I’m happy we got the win tonight. This is not about personal agendas. We win Thursday and then Saturday (Dallas) and Sunday (San Antonio), this will be in the past.”

A reference was made to the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan, when the legendary star got into fracas with a teammate named Steve Kerr.

“When you play at a very high level, things happen,” allowed Kerr. “And I kicked MJ’s ass.”

Warriors against the Rockets? ‘Been there,’ says Gentry

in ,

By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — They’ve been there. That was Alvin Gentry’s observation about the Warriors. But Gentry also has been there, an assistant with the Dubs in their championship season of 2015, and he was there — literally — Tuesday night when the Warriors beat Gentry’s current team, the New Orleans Pelicans.

Painful for Gentry, the Warriors’ 113-104 win that gave them the NBA Western Conference semifinal, four games to one. But also, in a way, joyous. Yes, the Pelicans have been his team for three seasons. But the Warriors used to be his team, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr is one of Gentry’s closest friends. So for him, call the result bittersweet.

And for the Warriors and their fans, the usual sellout at Oracle Arena, call it expected.

Now the question is what they should expect the next round, the conference finals, against Houston.

For the first time in four years, the Warriors don’t have the home-court advantage, the Rockets finishing with a better record. The first two games are in Houston, and the Dubs could come home down 0-2. More significantly, if it goes that far, Game 7 will be in Houston.

“It’s going to be a great challenge,” said Gentry of what the Warriors face in the Rockets, who Tuesday night also clinched their place in the conference final, beating Utah.

“But,” reminded Gentry of the Warriors, “they’ve been there before.”

So have the Rockets, three years ago — when they lost to the Warriors. And so there’s been talk of revenge, if a bit delayed.

“They have made it known their team is built to beat us,” said Draymond Green, who for all intents and all positions, from center — which he played Tuesday night at times against Anthony Davis — to guard, has been the Warriors' two-round playoff MVP.

“Kind of their, like you said, obsession,” Green agreed, “or whatever you want to call it. It is what it is. Like I’ve said before, that stuff is cool. Obviously you want to build your team to beat the defending champs, because that’s usually how you have to go to win a championship. That stuff has been said for about a year now. It’s time to play.”

The 6-foot-7 Green had 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, and although he missed a triple double by that one assist, he averaged a triple double in the five games against the Pelicans.

“He’s such an amazing player,” Kerr said of Green. “Defense, offense, he was our most valuable player.” Also at times, the most pixyish. Once, during a time out, he went to the Pelicans’ huddle.

“That should have surprised me,” said Gentry, “but I didn’t see any reason to get upset.”

The Warriors at times looked like the team we have come to know: Steph Curry, playing 37 minutes, the longest since his return after the knee injury, scored 28 points, Kevin Durant 24 and Klay Thompson 23, 19 of them in the first half.

The Warriors, as it has become standard, unloaded in the third quarter, leading 95-75 at the end of the quarter. But they got sloppy near the end, and the Pelicans got close. Not that the Dubs were in danger of losing.

They did lose two out of three to the Rockets in the regular season, but the last game, a 116-109 loss on Jan. 20, was at the end of a five-game road trip to places such as Toronto, Milwaukee and Cleveland, and the Dubs won the first four.

“That game was so long ago,” said Durant. “We know what they do. They know what we do.”

“You can’t believe the hype,” said Thompson. “Everybody is already talking about Warriors-Rockets.”

Even Kerr, after the game.

“We’re going to need some contributions from our bench,” said Kerr. “It’s a series where you’re going to have a lot of shooting out there for Houston, a lot of one-on-one play. We have to stay in front of them.”

Even if some think, at the start, the Warriors are behind them.

Steph’s back; Draymond never left

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By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — It was Steph Curry’s night, as we knew it would be when he finally was able to play after these long weeks of rehabilitation. But it was also Draymond Green’s night because, even with all the other talent, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and once more Steph Curry, the Warriors are Draymond Green’s team.

He is the fire. He is the persistence. He is leader. He is the man who makes the pieces fit, who rides herd on the defense, who crashes the boards, who forces the issue.

Who made sure the Dubs would not squander the home-court advantage they held over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, Golden State winning 121-116, the night Curry played for the first time in weeks.

That gave them a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven NBA Western Conference semifinals, but the next two games are at New Orleans. “And when their crowd gets into it,” said Curry, “it’s a different environment.”

Roughly six weeks Curry had missed with a knee injury. When he finally got the chance to play, he didn’t miss too many shots, immediately connecting on a 3-pointer and scoring 28 points in all, one fewer than Durant.

“You know,” said Draymond, “it was kind of electric in there, and for him to hit that 3 that fast, it brought a lot of life to the building, and a kind of light, spirit. Pretty fitting for sure.”

Spoken by a man who knows spirit, knows intensity, knows what’s lacking when the Warriors, as they did in the first quarter, don’t play all that well, particularly on defense.

“I had to bring some force,” said Green. “We were playing soft that first quarter. The second quarter, we needed to bring some intensity to the game, and that’s my job.”

As Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, who knows Green quite well as a former Warriors assistant coach, said, “Draymond can play every position.” And play the school principal if needed.

Green yelled at the Pelicans' Nikola Mirotic and Rajon Rondo, which didn’t displease Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who appreciates the edginess with which Draymond plays.

“I do like to see it as long as there’s no technical involved,” said Kerr. “But you know I thought those two 3s he hit to start the fourth quarter were probably the two biggest shots of the game, because we were kind of struggling, and the ball found its way to Draymond, so those were big shots that gave us a bit of a lead.”

The consecutive 3-pointers, the first 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, the next 16 seconds after that, put Golden State in front, 94-86.

Green had 20 points and team highs of 12 assists and nine rebounds.

“Draymond has been phenomenal throughout the playoffs,” said Kerr. “He’s been saving himself for the playoffs. It’s a long regular season, especially after three straight trips to the finals. And you can tell the difference in the intensity from a lot of our guys, but Draymond in particular.”

Green said about the same thing.

“I live for playoff basketball,” said Draymond. ”It’s the most fun time of the year for me, just locking in and focusing, kind of taking what the defense gives me. You know, just trying to create for my teammates in any way I possibly can.

“When you’re playing a great team like (New Orleans), a team with so many options and weapons, I have to be a threat. I think I’ve done a decent job so far.”

Curry’s return was special, of course. You can’t lose a two-time MVP and not be affected. There were games when others had the same deep open shots as Curry gets but failed to connect.

“I’ve been real eager of late to get back out with my teammates,” said Curry. To play some playoff basketball and get a big win. It was huge.”

He wasn’t in the starting lineup. “Seemed like it was forever,” Curry said of finally getting into the game. “It was a good feeling.”

Durant was asked what Curry was like when he can’t play basketball.

“That’s a good question,” said Durant. “Very anxious. Couple days ago in practice, he couldn’t stop running and jumping and making weird noises. So I’m glad he’s back. I was a little worried about him for a second.”

Draymond Green on KD: ‘His defense is spectacular’

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By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — For the opponent, it’s the old question against the young but experienced Warriors. Which poison do you pick: Triple Double (Draymond Green, of course) or Double Trouble (Kevin Durant)?

It’s a numbers game you’re destined to lose.

Green got his threesome on Christmas day at the Oracle (12 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists), Durant his double (25 points, five blocked shots). What the Warriors got on the holiday was less a gift than a well-earned victory over the only other team the fans seem to care about, the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-92.

The NBA wants to put on a show every December 25, five games from morning to night, and the prime attraction, a noon start Pacific time, 3 p.m. on the East Coast, is the matchup between the franchises that faced each other in the last three NBA finals, the Cavs and Dubs. As Hollywood knows, sequels sell.

So does the Big D, defense, particularly by KD, Durant.

The chant? It’s not “offense, offense.” Hardly anyone needs encouragement to let fly a 15-footer or roar in for a dunk. Scoring points is fun. Keeping the other team from scoring them is work. And the Warriors have been working. Especially Durant.

Nobody doubts what he can do with the ball. He’s averaging 28.4 points a game. With Steph Curry missing, Durant was the guy who kept throwing in the winners, against the Lakers, against everyone, as the streak went to 11 in a row. Whoever dreamed that someone 6-foot-10 had the touch of someone 5-10? Swish.

Or who sensed Durant would use his wingspan (something around seven feet) to stymie and swat? Not Green, who a couple years back, when Durant was at Oklahoma City, went against him in the playoffs.

“He always made some defensive moves,” Green said of Durant, a teammate now for a second year, “but he never really seemed to care. When he was guarding me, I knew how good he was, his length, how hard it was to get a shot off. When he came here, we talked about him getting better. From that point last year, he’s become a great defender.”

Durant almost agrees. But hold off on the word "great."

“I’m getting close to where I want to be,” said Durant. “But I’m not quite there.”

Durant on Monday defended the NBA’s best player, LeBron James, because that’s what Kevin wanted to do. James had 20 points (Kevin Love led the Cavs with 31 and 18 rebounds) but also a game-high seven turnovers.

“He’s one of the leaders in blocked shots per game,” James said of Durant. “He’s been doing a heck of a job first of all taking (the) individual matchup and then protecting the rim, too. They have a good, maybe great …They kicked our butts in transition.

“(Durant’s) right up there, if not the best, with Kawhi (Leonard), Russ (Westbrook), James (Harden). There’s a pretty long list. To play the same position, with me and KD being small forwards and with Kawhi, we do a great job of going at it.”

Durant’s only problem, if it can be considered as such, is that from afar, the fans, the press, he’s known as a shooter and scorer, no matter how many shots he blocks.

“If he just played defense,” said Draymond of Durant, “he’d be spectacular. But it will never overshadow his offense, which is spectacular.”

Durant was involved in yet another “call it the way you want it” play in the final seconds when the Warriors were ahead, blocking a LeBron shot and also it appeared getting a bit of LeBron’s hand. The officials studied replay after replay, then determined there was no foul.

“I just like guarding my position,” Durant said of taking on James. “A small forward is supposed to defend a small forward.”

Even if both small forwards, at 6-8, are taller than the big forward and occasional center, the 6-7 Green.

“You just can’t stop those guys like LeBron,” said Durant. ”They make good plays. They make shots at the rim. You can’t get discouraged.”

As one of the stars on a day of basketball stardom, Durant was anything but discouraged.

“It’s Christmas,” he reminded. ”There are so many people here happy. The spirit moves us.”

Fortunately, the spirit didn’t try to go inside against Durant or Draymond. He would have stopped moving.

Warriors: No Steph, No Kevin, no defense down the stretch

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By Art Spander

OAKLAND — The slogan is "Strength in Numbers." But the Warriors didn’t have enough numbers from their strength. Plenty of people on the court Monday night. However, two of them weren’t named Kevin Durant or Steph Curry.

“Without those two guys,” conceded Draymond Green, “it’s tougher. Sixty points. And they draw so many people to them. They get so much attention. Things were so much more closed down.”

An exaggeration about the points, if slight. Curry is averaging 26 a game, Durant 24.7, meaning the Warriors were missing 50.7 points against Sacramento. But hey, don’t the Warriors always beat the Kings, especially at Oracle? Of course. Until Monday night. Until they lost, 110-106.

The Kings, who had won only five of 19 games? “Give them some credit,” said Draymond. “They definitely executed well. Our defense just wasn’t that great.”

It was lousy. The Kings shot 53 percent, the first time in 37 games, win or lose, that an opponent had made 50 percent against the Dubs. A lot of easy drives to the basket, and nine 3-pointers.

So, off they go, the Warriors, on another road trip, the longest of the season, six games, starting Wednesday against the Lakers, then crossing the continent, flummoxed and well educated. Not that they believed any differently, but now they — and their somewhat spoiled fans — know that every team in the NBA has talent and potential.

The guy who did in the Warriors was Willie Cauley-Stein, the sixth pick overall in the 2016 draft. He had 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks. “He put a lot of pressure on us with his drives,” said Steve Kerr, the Warriors' coach.

The Kings have other guys, too. They have Vince Carter, old “Vinsanity,” in his 19th season, who is 40, or 16 years older than Cauley-Stein. And they have Bogdan Bogdanovic, whose driving bank shot with 2.4 seconds left broke a 106-106 tie.

And the Warriors didn’t have Steph or K.D. “That changes the dynamics down the stretch,” said Kerr. ”We had a few plays we knew we wanted. We just didn’t get great looks at the basket. They (the Kings) did a good job defensing us down there.”

Curry could have played if this were April or May. Or June. If it were the playoffs. He has a right hand contusion. But Durant’s left ankle is a problem. “Been lingering,” said Kerr, “but it’s not a huge level of concern.”

Strength in numbers. The Warriors roll because of their depth, men off the bench to sub for the starters. But when the men off the bench become the starters, then what? Then Omri Casspi gets 30 minutes (and nine points) and Patrick McCaw gets 16 points and seven assists.

“On a night like this, when Steph is out,” said Kerr, “it’s a good opportunity for Patrick. And even though it was a loss, there were some positives.”

Beginning some two weeks ago, November 16, the Warriors played at Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Oklahoma City, losing two of four. Then they came to Oakland for three games in four nights, losing the last. Now it’s more travel.

“It’s almost like we never came home,” said Draymond, “but it is what it is.” What it is, is pro basketball, too many games in too few days. But that’s not why the Warriors, twice with 10-point leads, lost to the Kings.

“We didn’t execute down the stretch,” he reminded. ”We should have put ourselves in better position to score.”

Jordan Bell, the rookie from Oregon, the defensive whiz, played 16 minutes, made four of six shots for eight points and grabbed five rebounds. When someone asked Draymond whether Bell should get more time, he said, “It’s not my job to say. What I will say is when he’s out there, some things happen.”

What happened to the Warriors was they tried to win a game without Steph and KD — and failed.