PLAYA VISTA — The Draymond Green who termed the Warriors’ play-in fate as “not that exciting” isn’t the same player who’s showed up in the team’s film sessions the past two days.
“That was last week,” coach Steve Kerr smiled. “Draymond’s very excited.”
Preparing for a win-or-go-home play-in game Wednesday against the Clippers, the nine-time all-defense honoree has taken a hands-on role. He has always had a sharp basketball mind and has never shied away from speaking up, publicly or in practice.
“I probably talk a little too much,” Green chuckled.
The Warriors will need Green to be locked in to have any hope of slowing down Kawhi Leonard. He bodied the Clippers’ star the last time the two shared the court in March and, looking ahead to the assignment in Wednesday’s win-or-go-home play-in game, paid a high compliment.
“This Kawhi we’re watching now,” Green said, ”… he looks like the Kawhi we played in the NBA finals seven years ago.”
That version of Leonard averaged 28.5 points and 9.8 rebounds while leading the Raptors to a shocking upset of Golden State, which lost Kevin Durant in the process. This version set a career-high in scoring, with 27.9 points per game, while taking 3s at his highest rate ever.
Most importantly, Leonard was healthy enough to play 65 games for only the fifth time in 14 NBA seasons. Both players should be well-rested Wednesday after they sat out Sunday’s meaningless regular-season finale.
“I always tell guys, Kawhi’s a great player. If he can shoot 50% from the field and I can make him miss one more shot, I did my job,” Green said. “I think that’s ultimately what you have to understand when you’re playing against superstars. … Ultimately as the defender, I just need to try to make it a little bit tougher. Make that shot a little bit tougher.”
While Green said it will take a “complete team effort” and that “no one guy is going to stop Kawhi,” he will likely bear the brunt of the assignment with the Warriors missing Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, two athletic wings both lost to season-ending knee injuries.
Shadowing a superstar is a different kind of role than the small-ball center Green played that unlocked the Warriors’ infamous lineup of death during the height of their dynasty.
It’s something made possible by a roster construction that hasn’t been all too common in Golden State over the years. With Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, the Warriors have a combination of size and skill that gives Kerr the opportunity to experiment with different looks.
“It gives us protection in the paint defensively,” Kerr said.
It has been rare for all three to share the court at the same time, but with both Porzingis and Horford active — albeit on minutes restrictions — one should be able to patrol the paint at all times, freeing up Green to attach himself at the hip to Leonard.
While Porzingis said his defensive mobility wasn’t where he would like it to be — “I just need to lose a couple pounds, honestly” — he is still 7-foot-2. The Clippers, on the other hand, have tended to play small since trading Ivica Zubac at the deadline.
“My length is still there,” Porzingis said. “Just anticipating things. Making the right reads. Being there for my teammates. All of those things I can do.”
Containing Kawhi is one half of the task at hand for the Warriors. Shifty scoring guard Darius Garland is the other piece of the puzzle. The two players have a combined usage rate of more than 50% since the Clippers acquired Garland for James Harden at the trade deadline.
De’Anthony Melton, who will have his fair share of face time with Garland, has been admiring how Green goes about his business in preparation for his own matchup.
“It’s different,” Melton said of Green’s focus. “It’s my first time being on the same side as them. So to see their gameplan discipline and how they attack everything and how they think is huge. … Having vocal leaders is important for us.”
Nobody, of course, has been more vocal than Green.
“Oh, man,” Kerr said. “This is the time of year that Draymond loves. He’s locked in. Leading a lot of the discussion about what we’re trying to do. He’s been great.”
Donning his coach’s cap, Green said he sounds “probably a little too close to Steve.” He just wants to make sure no detail gets overlooked in the hours of game film there is to pour over.
“Trying to be another set of eyes for our coaching staff,” he said. “When you’re watching the amount of film they’re watching, sometimes that can lead to some fatigue. So what are they missing? And that can ultimately save a bucket. Save one bucket, could be the game.”
However, Green isn’t the only one in Golden State’s locker room who’s locked in.
They also have that guy in the No. 30 jersey.
“The beauty of being a superstar like Steph Curry, the level of focus that I have to go into a game with daily, he don’t have to,” Green said. “But when it comes to playoff time, his focus goes to a completely different level. He talks more. He’s putting guys in position. He’s telling people what you’re going to see. … When Steph speaks like that, it’s a calming force.”
After Golden State finished the regular season Sunday night, Curry was asked what having Green around heading into the postseason does to boost the team’s confidence.
“Had that confidence for … 14 years,” he responded, nodding his head emphatically.
“When you give him a specific challenge, whether it’s a matchup or a must-win game, it brings the best out of all of us,” Curry expanded on Tuesday. “When we have time to prepare for a matchup … it’s that ultimate game of chess that he loves to play. It just brings a competitive spirit out of him that’s built the resume that he has.”