Golden State Warriors: Takeaways from Denver loss

Draymond Green

Wow, what a performance from Draymond. He got little playing time to start the game, because of early foul trouble and that showed.

The Warriors got outscored 44-27 in the first half when Draymond sat and it was partially why they struggled to get going. In the 2nd half, he found some offense and sparked the comeback, scoring all of his 13 points in the second half.

Over the last 2 weeks when, for obvious reasons, the infamous punch and contract negotiations have dampened the way Warrior fans have viewed Draymond, he’s still their second-best player. The value he provides is something no Warriors have been able to give them.

While it’s clear the Warriors hope that Kuminga and Wiseman can eventually do that, it’s become more and more clear they’re far away from providing that level of impact. It’s imperative that the Warriors manage to lock Draymond up because they’re probably not a title contender without him.

Closing thoughts

Overall, I thought that it was a pretty decent game for the Warriors. They dug themselves into too deep a hole in the second half to climb back from and they weren’t able to win the game after that. Draymond’s performance was encouraging to see as the defense was relatively underwhelming, it’s more than likely going to continue to improve as Draymond plays more and more.

This is a tough loss for the Warriors but it’s only game 2, of a long 82-game season. They’re experimenting with lineups and that means some growing pains. Enjoy the weekend, next up the Kings are coming into town