Draymond Green made a telling admission after the Warriors shock 114-111 loss to the Spurs on Wednesday night.
Green hurt his Defensive Player of the Year chances. Evan Mobley overtook him on PolyMarket Sports as the favorite. Why?
Keldon Johnson scored against Green twice down the stretch, which set up an epic Harrison Barnes game-winner.
[We] Couldnt get a stop, Green told reporters after the loss. Couldnt get into nothing good offensively. Couldnt get a stop.
The loss couldnt have come at a worse time for the Dubs. With the West being so tight, they could drop down into the Play-In and Green knows it all too well.
We know what were supposed to do, Green said. Were not children. Were adults. Champions. We know what it takes. No need to beat a dead horse. We messed around with the game and we lost. Thats how it goes.
He added,There was a lack of grit. Sometimes it doesnt take focus. Sometimes it takes grit.
Head coach Steve Kerr wasnt surprised that the Spurs rallied, since the Warriors never shored the game up.
We couldnt contain them defensively and when you do that, you leave the door open for shots like they hit, like the one Harrison hit at the end, Kerr said.
While Steph Curry sat, Golden State were outscored by 16 points.
Huge, I thought that was key to the game top of the second and top of the fourth [quarter], Kerr explained. We played two great quarters tonight first quarter and third quarter and then both of those top second and top fourth they blitzed us.
The next day, Kerr appeared on a local San Francisco radio segment and wasnt too perturbed by the Warriors L.
Id argue were in a great spot. 22-7 since we got JimmyYou cant let a couple losses dampen the vibe, Kerr told 95.7 The Game. You have to recognize the West is loadedThis is competition at its highest level and we are in the mix.
He continued,We want the week off, but were also well aware that theres plenty of ways to get through this stuff. You dont even know how matchups are going to play into this, who youll play, how it will play out.
I know the Lakers made the Conference Finals two years ago through the Play-In. Its not like its a death sentence to go to the Play-in.
But theres no doubt youd rather avoid it just to not have to deal with the extra game or two, but also the stress in having to get through those games.
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