SAN FRANCISCO — For the third time in the last eight games, Draymond Green failed to finish a ballgame he started.
There were the two ejections — the first on Dec. 20 against the Phoenix Suns, the second on Saturday against the Utah Jazz. There was also the spat with coach Steve Kerr that resulted in Green excusing himself to the locker room and never returning.
Without Green down the stretch, the Warriors still managed to win all three contests. They don’t exactly believe they’ve stumbled upon a new winning strategy.
“That ain’t the formula,” said Jimmy Butler, who had 15 points and seven assists. “No, no, no, no, no. We need ’23’ out there.”
“We need Draymond,” Kerr said following Saturday night’s 123-114 win over the Utah Jazz. “I want him out there. I think he’s up to about nine techs. We’re not halfway through the season yet. A long way to go, and we need him.”
Green’s latest ejection on Saturday occurred in the final minutes of the first half. With 2:25 remaining in the second quarter, Green was T’d up by referee Simone Jelks following a dunk by Lauri Markkanen. Green did not speak following the game, but he appeared to believe that Kyle Filipowski committed a three-second violation.
Following the first tech, Green continued passing his case to Kevin Cutler. It’s not uncommon for Green to receive some grace even as he continues his pleas. On this night, Cutler hit Green with another technical. Before halftime, Green’s night was over.
“I didn’t hear what he said, but it was a quick one,” Kerr said. “I know he got the ‘T’ right away, and then Kevin tossed him almost immediately. I don’t know what he said, but I assume it was something that Kevin just wasn’t going to listen to.”
“I plead the fifth,” Butler said. “Fifth!”
The Warriors trailed by 12 points after Markkanen hit two technical free throws, but without Green, they outscored the Jazz by 19 points for the remaining two quarters and change. Steph Curry left his imprint on the night, dropping 20 of his 31 total points in the third quarter to propel Golden State to its sixth game in its last eight tries.
“We won the game,” Curry said. “That’s all we care about, that’s all he cares about. I know he’d rather be out there. I don’t know what he said to the ref, but the consensus in the locker room was it wasn’t enough to get thrown out.
“When you’re a man down, you really got to pick up everything,” Butler said. “It’s generally hard to cover up what he does on both sides of the floor. The IQ on both sides of the floor, obviously, the defense, (getting) everybody the ball. Dray started off hot today, you know what I’m saying? It’s so hard to do what he does, but it’s a collective effort when he’s not out there.”
Green finished with fine counting stats against Utah during his limited time on the floor (eight points, three rebounds, two assists) but ended the night with a team-low +/- of -15.
Nights in the negative have been common for Green as of late. Over his last 11 games, Green has a plus-minus of minus-65, finishing with a positive figure on only two occasions. When asked about Green’s recent on/off numbers, Kerr said the team has “been a little jumbled this year” and attributed small sample sizes.
“I can tell you this: You look at Draymond’s career and he’s on the plus side in a massive way over and over again,” said Kerr of Green. “The last eight, 10 games, we’ve started the same way. We’ve had a better feel, better rotation. I think overall we’re playing better, and I think he’s playing better as well.”
