SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Draymond Green wrapped up another day of conditioning work on Saturday and, before boarding the Golden State Warriors’ flight from Sacramento to Houston, made a declaration about his status. He will make his season debut on Sunday against the Houston Rockets.
“Tomorrow,” Green said. “For sure. Hell yeah.”
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Green is getting the green light on the front side of a road back-to-back. The Warriors also play on Monday night in New Orleans. Like Klay Thompson a day prior, Green declared his intention to play on both sides of it.
“Hell yeah,” Green said. “I got goals. I got goals. I don’t know what they are yet. But I’m going to need to play 65 games (to reach some of them).”
Green is referring to the NBA’s new rule requiring players to participate in 65 games to be eligible for major awards like, in his case, NBA Defensive Player of the Year and an All-NBA team. It’s part of the league’s crackdown on load management, searching for any kind of incentive to get the best players in the league to appear more often.
“I like to play,” Green said. “That’s what I get paid to do and that’s what I love to do. Players catch a lot of flak for, ‘Oh, it’s load management.’ Most of the time it’s not the players and, quite frankly, we haven’t load-managed. We’ve had guys with injuries every year. When we sit, it’s to protect that injury, not because we’re tired. You don’t win championships if you can’t play a little tired. When we’ve sat, we’ve sat because, (for example), I just came off a major back injury and playing a back-to-back puts me more at risk.
“We have an incredible staff that does the science. I’m talking Dave Taylor and Rick Celebrini and their staff. They do the science: ‘Yo, he has this injury he’s been playing through and playing this back-to-back is probably gonna pull it.’ We haven’t played because of injuries, not because we’re tired. I respect the (65-game) rule. I think everyone gonna agree with the rule until there’s a bum on first-team (All-NBA). Then it’s, ‘Ahh, now I have to pay this bum $315 million dollars because somebody was really hurt.'”
Green will be on some sort of a minutes restriction in his return. The past Celebrini trend has been somewhere in the 24-minute range and often led Steve Kerr and the Warriors to bring that returning player off the bench, allowing them to spread that limited court time in shorter bursts.
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But Green wasn’t yet sure if he’d be starting or coming off the bench against the Rockets. Stephen Curry and Jonathan Kuminga are both questionable with left foot soreness. Curry was spotted icing his foot postgame in Sacramento in a bucket. Without knowing everyone’s status, the starting lineup and rotation hasn’t been scripted.
“I feel incredible,” Green said. “I’m excited, ready to play. Missing training camp sucks because everybody’s going and you’re behind, but I’m excited. Ready to go.”
Green and Chris Paul had a conversation on the bench during the Kings game. Both agreed that they’re beginning to really appreciate the mix of wisdom, youth and varying skill sets on this Warriors team. That includes two ascending third-year players, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga, and a pair of rookies, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis, they are comfortable putting on the floor.
“We can just keep putting in different waves,” Paul said. “If we want to go big, go small. Great balance.”
“The preseason went really well for us,” Green said. “You got young guys showing what they’re capable of and taking proper steps. It’s good to see the growth of JK and Mo. I like where we are heading. How I fit in is what we have to figure out. It may not be what it was before, but you have to figure it out.”
One of the bigger questions will be Green’s fit next to Paul on the offensive end. Both are considered basketball geniuses, but both operate best with the ball in their hand, controlling the action. It’s a playmaking balance that Kerr has said will take time, but has praised Paul for already voicing the need to run the wing and let Green bring it up when he rebounds.
How big of a challenge does Green believe it’ll be? He flipped the question upside down.
“How I see the challenge is for the other team,” Green said. “They’ll have players on the floor that have to think the game of basketball with us. Good luck. That’s how I see the challenge. You put Bill Gates and Paul Allen in a room and you get Microsoft. That’s how I see it.”
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One answer, especially in the Warriors’ smaller lineups, will be Green as the screener in a high pick-and-roll with Paul, spreading Curry and Thompson as the shooters and Andrew Wiggins (or Kuminga) in the dunker spot.
“(Have to figure) out what he likes in the pick-and-roll,” Green said. “That’s what I try to do. Different guys like different screening angles. He may want a hand off. He may want a pitch-back. He may want a step up. But, like I said, I think we are two of the smartest guys in the league. When you can put two of the smartest guys in the league on the floor on the same team with the weapons we have around us, I like the odds.”
(Photo of Green: Jevone Moore / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)