The Endgame was peak teamwork. Every Avenger showed up, threw hands, and saved the world. Nobody waited for Iron Man to carry the load. But with the Warriors, that story feels ancient. Once upon a time fits just right. The dynasty that won four rings in eight years? Long gone. Now it’s echoes in Chase Center halls. One-star show, take that however you want. What’s left of the glorious and dynastic era is Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Steve Kerr still drawing plays like it’s 2015. Golden? Maybe. But mostly just memories.
Nobody can fill the void Curry creates with his absence on the court. No, not even Jimmy Butler or Buddy Hield could replace the Baby-Faced during the Playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After Game 1, the Dubs seemed destined to get crushed. Why? Steph left the court with a grimace, which turned out to be a hamstring injury. That became a challenge for the Warriors, and this led to Coach Kerr making unprecedented demands for Draymond Green.
“I’ll be honest, when Steph went out of the lineup, Steve asked me, ‘Draymond, we need you to push the ball down the floor every time we get the ball, as if we’re on a fast break and somebody missed a shot. Because we need to create an advantage, and we need to create mismatches. If you just push it the way you push it, we’ll create the mismatch, and then we can get the ball to someone who can take advantage of the mismatch,’” Green admitted on his podcast.
Mar 11, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and head coach Steve Kerr argue with official Ed Malloy (14) during the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Coach Kerr asked the 35-year-old Golden State Warriors forward to do something he had never really done before. Guarding the defense– that’s what he’s a pro at. But offense? That’s Curry’s task, Jimmy’s task, BP at the most! But this was necessary; having Draymond lead the offensive transition to cause the mismatch was crucial. “That was my whole focus in the series. Like, I’m going — just get it. As soon as it goes in or if we miss, I’m coming back to the ball. Imma get it. Imma push. We’ll figure it out after,” Draymond added.
“I haven’t said this to anyone in the world, but they’ll know it now — when Steph went out, it was like, ‘Oh, I need to push the ball like that, and I need to score.’ And in my career, I haven’t really been in that situation much where, like, I need to push the ball, I need to anchor the defense, and I need to score.” Even in Curry’s absence, he was the only thing the Dubs and the Dub Nation could think about. They lacked a finisher in the series, and all Draymond Green could do was try his best.
Well, that too wasn’t enough because of Julius Randle on the other side. Maybe Green assumed he would be an easy target compared to Anthony Edwards. The script flipped enough for the Warriors, precisely Draymond, to say that he couldn’t do much against him.
Draymond Green admits helplessness against Julius Randle in the playoff series
“When I take a step back and I look at those series, I’ll be honest with you. This year, Julius Randle completely busted my a–. Like, nothing I could do about it. I made him take shots I wanted him to take. I did the things I wanted to do. He completely bust my a–,” the 2017 DPOY admitted without hiding his feelings.
The Wolves forward, mostly defended by Green over the five-game series, averaged 25.2 points with 53.3% shooting from the field. He averaged 6.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists in 37.6 minutes against the Warriors. Previously, on the Draymond Green Show, Green confessed that the series reminded him of their Finals against the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Also, because injuries also played a big role in changing the Warriors’ fate in both stories.
May 12, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) walks past head coach Steve Kerr after fouling out in the second half of game six of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
“Julius was incredible. He played great basketball. Honestly, some of the shots he was taking were shots you want him to take, and he made them. He made the shots. At the end of the day, the game comes down to shotmaking, and he made the shots. So I got to give Ju a lot of credit,” Green earlier confessed.
Draymond tried to be the hero, but Julius Randle stole the spotlight and the script. Even Steve Kerr’s bold call to hand Draymond Green the keys couldn’t rewrite the ending. The Warriors ran out of magic, and the playbook turned into a scramble. Sometimes, the shots fall for the other guy—and this time, they did.
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