Draymond Green Takes Blame For Warriors' Game 3 Loss
Losing Game 3 on the road against the Boston Celtics was not ideal for the Golden State Warriors, as they now trail 2-1 in the 2022 NBA Finals.
The way they lost this game was not ideal either, as the Celtics seemed to control the pace of play and the entire flow of the game for about 42 of the 48 minutes these two teams squared off with one another on Wednesday night, as the Warriors really only got things going in the third quarter.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson delivered for the Warriors, scoring 56 points on 11-24 shooting from three-point range, and Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points, but the “heart and soul” of the Warriors in Draymond Green did not play well at all.
In 35 minutes, Green finished with just 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and he ended up fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Draymond was one of the most impactful players in the Warriors’ Game 2 victory and in order for them to win this series or even get back into this series at this point, he will have to be their driving force.
Being one of the smartest players in the entire league, Draymond Green knows this and he acknowledged this on his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, immediately following Game 3 on Wednesday night.
“For us, I think our point of attack, our defense at the point of attack, has to be better,” Draymond said. “That is something we talked about in Game 1, after Game 1, and we also spoke about it after Game 2… For us, we have to come with more force against those two guys. They can’t just break us down and get to the paint and that obviously starts with me.
“I have to hold up my end of the bargain as I had to after Game 1. Tonight may have been one of the worst games of my career.”
The Warriors’ defense was picked apart by the Celtics all night long, as Boston outscored them 54-28 on the interior and their “Big 3” in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart all found success attacking Golden State defensively.
The three-point shot was falling for the Celtics in Game 1, ultimately resulting in them pulling away with a win late in the game, but in Game 3, the Celtics’ ability to attack the paint and convert easy opportunities at the rim led them to a win. This is a concerning sight for the Warriors’ defense and Green knows that his impact directly affects his team’s play on that end of the floor.
“Where I felt I played terrible was my overall impact on the game. I did not have the type of force I need to have in order for us to win at this level,” Green went on to explain. “When I look back on it, I totally outsmarted myself… I think for me, I just let too much noise get into my head about all the other stuff, so in turn, I let that drag my intensity level down… I did the exact opposite of what I said I was going to do or what I needed to do.”
Now trailing 2-1 in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors do not necessarily face a “do-or-die” scenario heading into Friday’s Game 4, but this game could ultimately decide the series.
There is a massive difference between being down 3-1 heading back home and being all tied up at 2-2 with Game 5 being on your home court, which is why Golden State will have to shake off this loss and really come up with ways to stop Boston heading into Friday.
Having Draymond Green step up on both ends of the floor will really allow the Warriors to control the pace of play and him stepping up his intensity sets an example for the rest of the team to follow.
“I think for me, the biggest adjustment is just coming out and being Draymond Green… I just have to play better and as we know, like I have said before, I play better, we win.”
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