For not the first time this season, the Golden State Warriors looked like a better team without Draymond Green on the floor against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday at Chase Center.
The stark offensive contrast with and without Green is an ongoing problem for the Warriors, and one that was blatantly pointed out by Nuggets head coach David Adelman immediately after Sunday's game.
Warriors can no longer ignore growing Draymond Green problem
Green was listed in the starting lineup for Golden State, but was a late out just minutes before the game due to a back injury. Yet despite the absence of the veteran forward, stars Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, and the recently acquired Kristaps Porzingis, the Warriors exploded offensively to record a stunning 128-117 victory over a genuine championship contender.
Asked after the game on whether Green's late absence and the insertion of Al Horford proved an issue for his team, Adelman admitted the switch caused some confusion to the Nuggets defense.
"Yeah that was confusing," Adelman said. "Obviously the game plan was very different, but that has nothing to do with being more aggressive to rotate to him. I thought coverages in the first-half broke down way too much and led to some shots for him."
In just his sixth start of the season, Horford exploded for a season-high 22 points on an incredible 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. That included going for 17 points and four assists on 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first-half alone, with Golden State dropping 76 points as a team to build a nine-point lead at the half.
Green's liability as a shooter and scorer has been even more glaring this season, perhaps because it comes in contrast to Horford's ability to space the floor. That's led to Steve Kerr closing halves and games with Horford over Green in recent times, but that may have to extend to the starting lineup too based on the success the Warriors found on Sunday.
Since the start of December, Golden State is -115 in Green's minutes on the floor. For context, Gary Payton II has the second-worst plus-minus in the same period at -84. How long can the Warriors persist with the franchise legend in a starting role, and as someone who plays more than 20 minutes?
The evidence is becoming far too compelling, with Golden State able to stretch Denver out and go 21-of-52 (40.4%) from 3-point range, allowing them to overcome a huge 35-point triple-double from 3x MVP Nikola Jokic.
When the opposing head coach is seemingly pointing to the greater difficulty in guarding the Warriors without Green, then you know that's the moment a change may need to be made.