As the Golden State Warriors fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, not much went right in the absence of Stephen Curry.
Notably, power forward Julius Randle torched the Warriors' defense, averaging 25.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists across the series.
His primary defender, veteran Draymond Green, has recently admitted that, out of all the playoff matchups in his career, this is one of the only that he feels he has lost and, in doing so, has revealed Golden State's blatant need for a center that can help anchor their defense against larger opponents.
Draymond Green can no longer be the Warriors' center
As the Warriors entered the playoffs, it was a known concern that their small-ball starting lineup would struggle to contend with the size and physicality of larger teams. Although they survived their series against the Houston Rockets, players such as Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams had their way on the boards, resulting in a tight and intense matchup between the two teams.
Similarly, against Minnesota, the team struggled against the size of players like Randle and Rudy Gobert, who averaged a combined 16 rebounds throughout the course of the series.
Draymond, tipping his cap recently to Randle, said "I lost my matchup. Julius was incredible. He played great basketball... At the end of the day, the game comes down to shotmaking and he made the shots. So I got to give [Randle] a lot of credit."
Green, one of the best and most acute defenders in NBA history, has very rarely been exposed in the manner that he was during this playoff run.
Most of the blame for this can be placed on the fact that Green, contrary to his years of experience, primarily played the center position for Golden State down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs. At only 6'6", Green mostly held his own, but he can not be expected to play both the role of center and have enough energy to lock down a player of Randle's caliber simultaneously.
Green, with his athleticism and acumen, can certainly contend with opposing power forwards if he has a rim-protecting center behind him to provide aid on the defensive end of the floor.
While the Warriors have players such as Quinten Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis on their roster, and both are developing steadily, neither of them is ready to take on the defensive and rebounding roles that the team needs so desperately.
If Green so readily admits his disadvantage in the matchup that ultimately led to the demise of Golden State's season, fixing such an issue should be the top priority for the organization this offseason.