How long can Warriors be 'desperate' for Draymond's return? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Draymond Green, when speaking to the media after being named an NBA All-Star for the fourth time, said he hoped to be back in three to four weeks. That was on Feb. 3.
He again gave a three to four weeks timeline on Feb. 20 during the All-Star Game, and told The Athletic's Anthony Slater Thursday night after the Warriors' loss to the Dallas Mavericks that he hopes to be back in "a couple weeks." Then following the loss, coach Steve Kerr said the truth out loud about the Warriors.
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"Obviously we're gonna have to get healthy," Kerr said. "Draymond, we desperately need Draymond. You guys know that."
Yes, we do.
One day later, here's what assistant general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. had to say about Green on ESPN Radio.
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"Obviously we need him to get to where we want to go," Dunleavy said. "We're running out of time as far as regular season, as far as getting our rhythm and getting guys back and in shape and all that."
Again, the truth out loud.
That brings us to the question, how long can the Warriors keep being desperate for Draymond's return?
The Warriors now have been losers in seven of their last nine games. They can't win a championship without their 6-foot-6 Swiss Army knife. That we knew long before he injured his back, keeping him out for nearly two months now.
Putting all your eggs in a basket that sits on an injured back, however, is quite the dangerous game. Perhaps one of the most dangerous of games.
Golden State without Green has been smashed on the glass. Even at his undersized height, it was obvious what a difference it makes without Draymond, and how much opposing big men thrive. That has moved past the monsters of the league. Take a look at how Luka Doncic thrived yet again Thursday night for the Mavs, scoring a game-high 41 points.
Doncic did make four 3-pointers, but in the fourth quarter, all six of his points came within 10 feet. Dallas drained two 3-pointers in the fourth. They also made seven shots from 10 feet or closer.
The Warriors are small, this we know. As KNBR pointed out Friday, of the top 12 teams in the NBA, the Warriors have the fewest amount of players listed at 6-foot-10 or taller. James Wiseman is their lone player who fits the criteria.
He hasn't played a single game this season as he continues to recover from knee surgery, plus a clean-up operation in December. A Warriors coach reportedly also recently told ESPN's Kendra Andrews that "it's highly unlikely that Wiseman will be a big part of the Warriors' rotation, particularly in the playoffs."
Green is different, though.
He's the Warriors' Ed Reed, a modern-day Steve Atwater or even Tyrann Mathieu when he went full Honey Badger at LSU. Draymond covers ground from side to side, forward and backward -- knocking those big and small off their game.
In a game where Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole crawled out of their shells on offense and rookie Moses Moody scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, the Warriors still needed perfect defense against Doncic and Dallas. Instead, they got Steph Curry guarding Luka in the fourth quarter and the Warriors were outscored 18-9 in the final 6:28 after tying the game at 104 apiece.
The Warriors needed their All-Pro safety on the floor. He was there, though he was subjected to street clothes and a back contraption as he roamed the sidelines instead of defending Doncic and Co.
"If we can get Draymond healthy and in rhythm, hopefully with some good amount of action going into the playoffs, you're starting to see some of the lineups we're able to throw out there that are more versatile and should be able to well off penetration better," Kerr said Thursday night.
Time for another hypothetical. If Green does return in what he's calling "a couple weeks," that would be at the earliest two weeks. From Thursday, that would be March 17, the day after the Warriors face the Boston Celtics. He already is missing Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, and if he is to miss the next two weeks, the Warriors would be without Draymond also against the Denver Nuggets twice, the LA Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks, along with the Washington Wizards before that Celtics game.
Coming into Saturday night, the No. 2-seeded Warriors are a half-game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies -- a team they've lost to twice this season -- and both teams play on the same night. The Warriors are just 3.5 games ahead of the No. 4-seeded Utah Jazz, and they're now closer to the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference than the No. 1 seed.
"We feel like with him and with a healthy roster, we can compete with anybody," Dunleavy said. "So, we'll see."
There's no doubt that the Warriors have proven they can compete, and beat, anybody when fully healthy. That was a long time ago at this point. They're still without Green, Wiseman and Andre Iguodala, and Klay Thompson has been up-and-down since his return.
Are 12 games from Green enough to end the regular season? What about 10? Fewer?
How Dunleavy finished his interview said everything about Draymond and the Warriors.
"You need a little bit of luck, you need some breaks going your way, you need some help," Dunleavy said. "But as we showed earlier in the season, when we're right we've got a really good team. We've got a team that can play both ends of the court and he's the lynchpin for all of that."
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From the numbers to eye test, the Warriors are a team hanging their championship hopes on the (injured) back of someone who hasn't played in a game since the start of January.
Just make sure he has an ice pack after this heavy of a piggyback ride.
