Life is different for warriors now.
The days of the most lethal hardwood show are gone, a collection of talents that allowed the Warriors to dismiss most opponents without breaking a sweat. The days when Warriors approached certain opponents with “appropriate fear” are over. They have to approach each opponent with the same mentality, knowing that nothing is given.
These new-looking warriors are learning to win. Likewise, Draymond Green is learning to lead in a different way.
Green spent his formative years as the Warriors’ heartbeat. His energy, enthusiasm and competitive fire gave the winning teams a shake of life when he felt the need to arise. He had veterans like David West, Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala there to contain his outbursts, to channel Green’s tenacity and contain it when necessary.
All of these veterans have moved on, and now Green and Steph Curry are learning to be the oldest statesman on a team of Warriors, no longer with the firepower of the Galactic Empire, but still learning to discover what they are and how good they are. they can be.
The last learning moment in Green’s evolution from emotional jet fuel supplier to moderate leader came on Saturday, when he was assessed for two quick technical fouls and sent off nine seconds from the end against the Charlotte Hornets. Green’s seething emotions cost the Warriors, who were without Curry, a chance to win a much-needed victory. Terry Rozier took down both technical free throws to tie the game and then drained a 20-foot shot at the bell to give the Hornets victory.
In previous years, Green was reportedly cornered by a veteran teammate and prevented from obtaining the second technique. But with Klay Thompson injured and Curry sick, there was no one to save Green from himself. After two days of reflection, the three-time NBA champion knows that it has cost his team a victory and that it is up to him, a member of the old guard, to be a different type of leader and keep those emotions in check.
“I’m still a little disappointed in myself because I think the whole situation has bothered me,” Green told reporters on Monday, saying he was more upset about the expulsion than being suspended for game 5 of the 2016 NBA finals. “… this situation, in particular, I was in complete control. I let that control run away from me and, in turn, I let the game go away from me and my teammates. I think the reason to bother me more, obviously, as I said, your thoughts are your thoughts about the game 5 situation and my thoughts are my thoughts. This young team, you know, winning an NBA game is not easy. And this young team didn’t have, you know, the guys on this team didn’t have much experience with victories. So taking away my teammates’ game, for which they worked so hard, was a little frustrating for me because I let them down.
“Another reason to be a little frustrating for me when I think of the whole picture of it all – if you type Draymond Green before Saturday, the first clip you’ll see is me talking about the [Andre] Drummond’s situation. So, to go from that situation to what the next thing you see, are two completely different extremes of the spectrum and that’s where the disappointment lies for me, letting my emotions take over me and starting from one of the most powerful statements in history the NBA for that. It’s embarrassing. That’s where the disappointment comes from for me. Let my teammates down and then that. The difference in these two situations. I’m much better than that
“I am a completely different person at 25 than at 30. So when I look at the person I am today, it should never happen. So, in saying that, I can admit my faults and when I am I was wrong and I was wrong. And I have to do what I have to do to make it up to my teammates. Obviously, as I told the guys, I appreciate your support, but this action does not justify support. With the support of teammates comes responsibility and I let that responsibility go. Thinking, just because they are my teammates and I have their support doesn’t necessarily mean I deserved it in that situation because I wasn’t. So, I am very grateful for them and I owe them ”
Green is confident that he will get better with this experience. He admitted that he was “totally wrong” in obtaining the second technique. He knows this team, this version of the Warriors – who have been struggling to find consistency – needs him on the ground.
Earlier versions of the Warriors could feed on his passion and emotion and, when things went overboard, they would survive if he had to take a shower earlier. His presence, while vital to defensive communication and offensive flow, was not as essential as having Curry flanked by Thompson and Kevin Durant. The Warriors could survive an explosion of Green, hook it in their veins and let them propel them into a quick five-minute explosion that left no trace of their opponent behind.
These warriors need green. They need your playing skills, your high IQ in basketball and, most importantly, your leadership. One of the standard bearers of the Warriors’ championship culture, it is now vital that Green grows into a new role for which he is arguably more suitable than the previous one: that of an older veterinarian.
“I think it has a big impact,” said Green about the absence of other veterans on the team. “Just not having older veterans, by itself, to give you that perspective, you kind of have to find it. It is a completely different situation than the one I was used to being or part of, but you just have to find it. Everything is part of growth. You will not remain the young man forever. One thing is certain in this life is that we all age. That’s the nature of it, so you just need to make that adjustment. ”
He is. Warriors too.
The remnants of the NBA’s largest talent pool are spread across the league. Durant is leading a new super team in Brooklyn. Andre Iguodala is now the former Miami Heat vet. Thompson is spending his second consecutive season recovering from a serious injury, while Curry and Green put a blood list of the new Warriors on their backs and try to show them how to win.
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Every night is a new experience for ex-NBA kings. Curry was thrilled with his MVP-level star. Green’s chemistry with Curry has been out of this world and each time he leaves the ground it provides more evidence of how important it is for the Warriors to have him in it, no matter what the box score says.
“Each team is different and leadership develops as the season progresses,” Kerr told reporters on Monday. “David West was the guy who could literally physically hold Draymond on his lap, give him a hug and fight to keep him out of the situation. Draymond’s respect for supporting that. This team, you have younger guys who may not feel as comfortable doing something like that. So, it’s a different dynamic for sure. I think Draymond understands this, we understand that, but there will be times when we will have to help him not to cross that line. That’s how it is built. He is so competitive and fiery that he will sometimes lose. We all have to try to stop him from crossing that line, but that comes mostly from within. “
For Green, this constraint will come in time. Green knows he has it and knows that he needs to control it. He is very important to this team, and each victory is too critical to be delivered with an unnecessary emotional outburst.
Draymond Green’s new leadership style is still being worked on and perfected. He, like everyone else, is learning to exist in the new reality of the Warriors.
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