Four-time NBA champion Draymond Green will make his season debut on Sunday. The star power forward missed the preseason and the start of the campaign with an ankle injury, but he’s now ready to pick up things where he left them last season.
The Golden State Warriors have fared well without him, almost taking down the Phoenix Suns in the season debut before dominating the Sacramento Kings to get their first win of the campaign.
They’ve done that with Chris Paul in the starting lineup and Andrew Wiggins sliding into Green’s usual PF spot, but that’s likely to change now that he’s back to full strength.
Green has had some injury issues the past couple of years, so the Warriors might want to take things slowly with him as he comes back. Nonetheless, he wants to shut down all that ‘load management’ narrative, stating that Warriors players will be on the floor for as long as they’re healthy.
Draymond Green Says Warriors Don’t Do Load Management
The players — especially stars — have drawn plenty of backlash for sitting out despite being healthy enough to play, and Green wants to make it loud and clear that that’s not the way the Warriors’ staff takes care of business:
“I like to play,” Green told The Athletic. “That’s what I get paid to do, and that’s what I love to do. Players catch a lot of flak for, ‘Oh, it’s load management.’ Most of the time, it’s not the players, and, quite frankly, we haven’t load-managed. We’ve had guys with injuries every year. When we sit, it’s to protect that injury, not because we’re tired. You don’t win championships if you can’t play a little tired. When we’ve sat, we’ve sat because, (for example), I just came off a major back injury, and playing a back-to-back puts me more at risk.”
Green Likes His Team’s Chances
Green’s return will give the Warriors another elite playmaker and high-IQ player. He can make an impact on both ends of the floor, guarding all five spots and being able to set his teammates up to score with ease.
There are some concerns about the Warriors’ size — or lack thereof –– and how their new team will mesh with Chris Paul. Still, Green believes it’s other teams that should be worried about them, as smart players will always figure out the way to coexist:
“How I see the challenge is for the other team,” Green said. “They’ll have players on the floor that have to think the game of basketball with us. Good luck. That’s how I see the challenge. You put Bill Gates and Paul Allen in a room, and you get Microsoft. That’s how I see it.”
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Even if his impact doesn’t always translate to stats, Green is one of the best two-way players in the league. As for Paul, he’s no longer the player he once was, but it seems like he’s bought in, and — barring injuries — the Warriors could make a deep postseason run with their high-IQ team and Stephen Curry still in his prime.
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