The Golden State Warriors have seen forward Draymond Green leave games early multiple times in recent weeks. They’ve ended up with positive results in those contests, however, which has sparked some to speculate whether the team is better without the player that has anchored their defense for the last decade and a half.
Green’s star teammate vehemently disagrees with that notion.
Draymond Green Ejected, Warriors Win Again Without Him
The Warriors were losing by 11 points in the second quarter of their game against the Utah Jazz on Saturday. That was when Green lost his cool yet again, this time drawing two quick technicals and a subsequent ejection for arguing with the referees. Prior to his departure, he had posted a plus/minus of -15 in 12 minutes of playing time.
Without him, Golden State was able to mount a comeback. Behind 20 third-quarter points from Stephen Curry, the Warriors rallied to end up taking home a 123-114 victory, marking their 6th win in their last 8 games.
In those eight games, Draymond Green has left the floor early in three of them. The first was an ejection, which came in December 20th’s game against the Phoenix Suns. The Warriors were losing 47-38 at the time, but wound up winning 119-116.
Two days later, he was dismissed after an apparent bench argument with head coach Steve Kerr. Golden State was down 71-66 against the Magic when Green headed to the locker room, but outscored Orlando 54-31 the rest of the way without their starting forward.
Is Golden State Better Without Green In The Rotation?
All three games told the same story: the Warriors are losing when Draymond Green gets ejected, but end up winning without him on the floor.
When asked about the assumption in the locker room after Saturday’s victory, Jimmy Butler had the following to say:
“Hell naw, that ain’t the formula. No, no, no, no. We need 2-3 out there.”
Through 35 games, Green has been assessed nine technical fouls. Under NBA rules, a player is automatically suspended for one game upon reaching 16 technicals. Given the lack of depth that the Warriors have, missing one of their cornerstone pieces for any amount of time could spell trouble for a team currently on the fringe of contention.
Green has now been ejected 24 times in his career, the second-most in NBA history, behind only Rasheed Wallace (29).
After their win against the Jazz, the Warriors are now 19-17, and are in 8th place in the Western Conference. They’ll look to keep their hot streak going in the coming weeks, as they will be at home for eight straight games after Monday’s visit to Los Angeles to play the Clippers.
