PHOENIX — Draymond Green has two games left to serve in his five-game suspension, but the Warriors veteran is finding ways around the restrictions to stay involved.
Green voluntarily participated in an optional shootaround and light scrimmage with the Warriors’ bench guys away from the Footprint Center before Wednesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns.
Gary Payton II also participated in the shootaround and looked spry, but will sit out for a third straight game with a left foot strain.
League rules say Green can’t be at the arena before, during or after any game he’s suspended for, but he has spent time around the team on non-game days scrimmaging with the younger players, lending his voice while he can’t lend a hand. He had plenty to say about Golden State’s inconsistencies on defense in his absence, rookie Brandin Podziemski said.
“Just having his presence and voice means a lot for me, for Trayce (Jackson-Davis), for the young guys,” Podziemski said. “The knowledge he has for the game even though he’s not playing, he shares with us. That’s something you can’t replace.”
Green went in on them toughening up on defense, pointing out that they were not physical enough switching onto Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams down the stretch in their two losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both players eased into their mid-range game to help pin a blown 18-point lead and overtime loss on Golden State last Saturday.
The Warriors’ defense in their first two games against Oklahoma City’s five-out offense — with five shooting threats that include seven-footer Chet Holmgren — was so concerning that Chris Paul gathered a few teammates for an impromptu mini-practice after Thursday’s loss. He wanted to work through their issues defending guards slipping out of the pick-and-roll.
Warriors players were doing their postgame workout in the facility when Paul assembled a handful of them on the practice court nearby to talk through what went wrong. Soon, more players joined in and it evolved into a quasi-practice with a majority of the team participating.
“Chris is always talking, trying to figure out things and showed us some things on the court real quick,” Podziemski said. “A couple people led to a lot more people. It wasn’t a planned thing, it just happened because we were out there.”
Consecutive costly turnovers led to a 22-6 run that sparked the Thunder’s comeback overtime win on Saturday, but the Warriors saw improved defensive intensity in Monday’s win against the Houston Rockets. They’re hanging onto that progress, especially with Green out.
“Coming out of that last Saturday, learning what we did learn from those two games, Monday was a good example of how good we can be defensively,” Podziemski said.
A few players and coach Steve Kerr noted that the long trip early this season denied them opportunities to get a lot of full practices in. They’re still finding times to work through the flaws and communication issues that have been present through the 6-2 start and the six-game losing streak alike. Paul told reporters after Monday’s win that they’d had a productive practice on Friday to get back to the basics of moving the ball in a half-second offense — an offense which, in theory, involves making a decision to pass or move within a half-second.
“But it ain’t going to look the way it’s supposed until we get Dray back,” Paul told NBC Sports Bay Area.