MILWAUKEE — The fourth quarter was about to begin, the Warriors were missing five key players and down two points against the mighty Milwaukee Bucks. A street-clothed Draymond Green had to get involved.
Green stood up from his seat on the bench and began orchestrating the first defensive possession, pointing and shouting his teammates into their proper positions to counter. Through a rough week defined primarily by miscommunication and funk, Green’s voice — even from the sideline — pierced the dead silence.
“He talks to guys during timeouts, during the game,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He has a great sense of the game and he was talking to (Jonathan Kuminga) about how to guard certain guys, which direction to send them. Draymond is a huge help and I’m looking forward to getting him back on the floor.”
The Warriors played some improved defense without Green in Milwaukee: For the first time in three games, they did not give up more than 70 points in the first half — against a potent Bucks offense, at that. But justification for the Warriors having lost seven of their last 10 games, including a 129-118 loss Saturday in Milwaukee, always traces back to poor defense. For the bad defense Steph Curry has blamed a lack of collective trust, Dario Saric said roster unfamiliarity leads to a lot of overhelping, which leaves opposing players wide open to score. But everyone blames this bad defense on miscommunication.
“It’s a little bit tough because we have so many people out of the lineup and the rotations are in a jumble and have been through the year,” Brandin Podziemski said. “When we get healthy and get everyone back, we’ll be solid. But most of it comes down to effort and wanting to do it.”
Players need to speak up on the court, and no one on the roster — let alone the entire league — communicates on defense quite like Green. As the trade deadline approaches, talks of how a player swap and fresh blood can rejuvenate a contender will dominate the discourse. But so, too, will Green’s imminent return. And all signs point to Green returning either against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday or against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
They need him.
In all, the Warriors’ 117.7 defensive rating this year ranks 24th among 30 NBA teams. More startling is their 123.8 defensive rating in the 16 games Green’s missed since his indefinite suspension hit on Dec. 13. Green’s suspension was lifted on Jan. 6, but he has been ramping up into playing shape before he can return to game action, having not participated in team practices during his suspension.
“He has an ability to communicate, get us into defensive sets and guard multiple positions and just be one of the greatest defenders that ever played,” Klay Thompson said. “Should be easy for Draymond (to get back into the flow), he’s one of the greatest to ever do it. I don’t see it being too tough on him.”
This defense has been at its ugliest of late. An assistant coach relayed to Kerr after the crushing loss at home to the New Orleans Pelicans that this Golden State team is the “quietest team ever” and a lack of on-court chatter led to defensive disarray, blown coverages and overhelping. Opposing players from Chicago’s Coby White and New Orleans’ Herb Jones and Toronto’s RJ Barrett have cashed in on wide-open shots, often from 3, delivered on a silver platter.
There’s some concern that Green’s re-entry to the fold will further jumble an already scattered rotation pattern, further delaying any semblance of consistency this team needs. Overpowering that fear is Green’s history of orchestrating bad chaos into organized chaos.
Now at 18-21, in 12th place in the West and out of the play-in frame with the trade deadline looming, they could use some good chaos.