The Golden State Warriors made a key adjustment in their Game 4 win over the Sacramento Kings. Even though Draymond Green was active after a one-game suspension, they still brought him off the bench.
The Warriors rolled with the very same lineup they had in their Game 3 win, with Jordan Poole starting next to Stephen Curry. And while it eventually worked out, there was still some chatter online about howGreen would deal with that.
Notably, though, Green actually suggested he’d come off the bench in Game 4, according to ESPN. So, when asked about that decision, his response was as blunt and straightforward as one could expect.
Draymond Green Opens Up On Coming Off The Bench
“We won. So, I’m a firm believer in ‘if something isn’t broke, you don’t fix it,’” the former Defensive Player of the Year said postgame. “I didn’t want to come back and just shake things up because I’m back.”
“There’s a lot of guys who, you know, 11 years in, you start to feel a sense of entitlement; I never want to reach that point in my career, where I feel entitled to something,” added Green.“Those guys don’t fare well in the end.”
Green Is A Selfless Player, Says Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson gave Green his flowers for making such a decision. He called him a selfless player and a winner, so he wasn’t surprised to see that he would gladly take a step back if that was what the team needed:
“He’s a selfless player,” Thompson said. “Draymond is a winner and he realized that last game we got a great flow offensively with the four-guard lineup, and to stagger him and Loon’s minutes benefited us a lot… Just a big-time adjustment by the coaching staff and complete unselfishness by Draymond that allows us to reach our goal. That’s why he’s the champion he is.”
The Dubs have evened things up after falling to a 0-2 hole for the first time in the Stephen Curry era. But whether Green will continue to come off the bench once they arrive in Sac-Town for Game 5 remains to be seen.