We’ve heard this over and over. Every time the Golden State Warriors go through a tough stretch, NBA circles wonder whether the dynasty is finally over. Every time, Steve Kerr’s team proves the wrong.
Nonetheless, something feels slightly different this time. Most of their veterans are playing as good as ever, but for the first time in the Kerr era, their depth— or lack thereof— has been a legit concern.
The second unit has blown leads left and right, and they lack the defensive intensity the Dubs have been known for over the years. That’s why Draymond Green wants them to be better, and urged the team to fix their struggles.
NBA News: Draymond Green Wants The Second Unit To Step Up
“It’s not so much the point total that’s been lost, it’s the energy,” Green said. “And then you try to come back from that and it’s impossible to overcome. So I think that is the importance of it. Just making sure that we’re able to sustain the level of energy needed to win at a high level… As a second unit, your job isn’t to go out there and build a lead. Your job is to maintain the lead. If the first unit fails to build a lead, then your job is to slow down and settle the game in. That’s just kind of been my focus.”
“I think the struggles are real,” Green added. “Like, I don’t think our struggles are just like something we can ignore. They’re real struggles. They’re very fixable struggles. I don’t want to say they can be easily fixed, because to say something is easy in this profession is a lie in itself. But they are very fixable.”
“The question is, ‘How long does it take to fix them?’ It’s not something I’m overly worried about,” the forward continued.”You’d rather have them sooner rather than later. But in saying that, to build what we’re trying to build, we do understand that it takes time. Now, how do you (do that) while winning? We’ve been in this position before, where we’ve had struggles and things that we needed to work on and that we had to fix. But we were able to learn while winning, and so it’s not as glaring or noticeable. Right now we’ve been losing, and so those struggles are more evident.”
The Warriors are a postseason team, so they may not be all that worried. But losing habits tend to stick, so they need to take a deep look in the mirror and fix what can be fixed before it’s too late.
