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Warriors: Draymond Green can’t return soon enough

By Tony Pesta

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 03: Draymond Green #23 reacts after Jordan Poole #3 of the Golden State Warriors dunks the ball on Omer Yurtseven #77 of the Miami Heat in the second half at Chase Center on January 03, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 03: Draymond Green #23 reacts after Jordan Poole #3 of the Golden State Warriors dunks the ball on Omer Yurtseven #77 of the Miami Heat in the second half at Chase Center on January 03, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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The Golden State Warriors have been without Draymond Green for far too long. He’s slated to return sometime after the All-Star break, but the former Defensive Player of the Year can’t come back soon enough.

Draymond Green has been missed sorely by the Golden State Warriors and as he inches closer to a return, the Dubs can’t wait much longer.

Life is just easier when you have a guy like Draymond Green on the floor. Well, that is if Draymond is on your team — because he isn’t the type of player you want to gameplan for.

No NBA coach is game planning on how to stop Green from scoring. That’s not the type of attention Green demands from opponents. Instead, you have to figure out how you’re going to score on him — and how to stop Dray from dissecting your defense for easy assists to his star teammates.

There is no one quite like Draymond and the Dubs have been reminded of this with him on the sideline for 22 games.

The void left behind

Golden State did fairly well in terms of staying above water without their captain. A season-high nine-game win streak shortly after losing Draymond is a good reason for that. Players like Otto Porter, Jonathan Kuminga and first-time All-Star Andrew Wiggins have all stepped up in his absence.

Except… there is only so much those guys can do to replicate Draymond. At the end of the day, the Dubs are missing their leader and each of their losses could have potentially been victories if he was in the lineup.

We have a big enough sample size to see what we already probably knew. The Dubs are a better team with Draymond on the floor.

Warriors with Draymond Green On Court:

  • OFF RTNG: 111.3
  • DEF RTNG:  101.5
  • NET RTNG: 9.8

Warriors with Draymond Green Off Court:

  • OFF RTNG: 110.5
  • DEF RTNG: 105.1
  • NET RTNG: 5.4

As always, take advanced analytics with a grain of salt but I don’t think there are many nuances to the situation. Draymond makes everyone around him better through his leadership and knowledge of the game.

Most of all, I think I speak for everyone when I say we just want to see Draymond, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson storm the floor together again.

Next. All Eyez on Jonathan Kuminga. dark

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