Following the Warriors 107-103 loss to the Suns, Steve Kerr spoke about how he loved how the Dubs competed against Phoenix and how Draymond Green took a big step forward physically as he continues to find his rhythm.
Draymond Green returning to form is a major key to the Warriors’ playoff hopes, and coach Steve Kerr likes the progress he’s seeing from the power forward.
Despite Golden State’s 107-103 loss to the Phoenix Suns at Chase Center on Wednesday night, Green took a major step forward in Kerr’s eyes as he continues to bounce back from a lower back injury that sidelined him for two months.
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“I think Draymond took a step tonight,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “It looked to me like he was a step quicker to the ball, step quicker to his rotations. Looked like he turned a corner physically and that was a great sign.”
Green hasn’t been pleased with his play as of late, but on Wednesday he looked more like himself than he has in recent games since returning to the court on March 14.
The 32-year-old grabbed 10 total rebounds -- the most he has had in any game this month. His 31 minutes played was also the most action he has seen since returning from injury.
During his postgame press conference, Green agreed with Kerr’s assessment and said he felt more like himself, from his attitude on the court as the game progressed to how his body performed.
“I think I led better. I thought in the first half my body language was terrible. Everything that went wrong, I let it get to me. In the second half, I just played and led, and I know that’s what I have to do,” Green said. “A part of the reason I’ve been so bad is I haven’t been leading, I haven’t been talking, and so I thought from that standpoint I was a lot better and everything else will follow that.”
Green is still getting back into game shape and said it was difficult returning to the team right before the Warriors set out on a five-game road trip.
“Earlier this morning I was exhausted,” he said. … But I got in with [Warriors trainer] Rick [Celebrini] today and kind of did a full body cleanup and just kind of got my limbs back moving the right way, got a good activation session in.”
While the body work certainly helped Green’s performance, being back home in the Bay made an impact, too.
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“I saw my baby girls, so that was helpful as well,” Green said with a smile.
If Green continues to improve and lead on the court, the Warriors’ chances at winning a fourth championship with the veteran will certainly increase.
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