Draymond Green’s return to form is a major key to the Warriors’ playoff hopes and coach Steve Kerr is pleased with the progress he’s seeing from the power forward.
Despite Golden State’s 107-103 loss to the Phoenix Suns at the Chase Center on Wednesday night, Green made a big step forward in Kerr’s eyes as he continues to recover from a back injury that sidelined him for two months.
“I think Draymond made a move tonight,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “It looked to me like he was a step faster on the ball, a step faster on his rotations. It looked like he physically rounded a corner and that was a great sign.”
Green hasn’t been happy with his game lately, but on Wednesday he looked more like himself than he has in recent games since his return to the pitch on March 14.
The 32-year-old grabbed 10 total rebounds — the most he’s had in a game this month. His 31 minutes played was also the most active he has seen since returning from injury.
During his post-game press conference, Green agreed with Kerr’s assessment, saying he feels more like himself, from his attitude on the pitch as the game progressed to the performance of his body.
“I think I led better. I hated my body language in the first half. I let everything that went wrong come to me. In the second half I just played and led and I know I have to do that,” said Green. “Part of the reason I was so bad is because I wasn’t leading, I wasn’t speaking and so I thought from that point of view I would be a lot better and everything else will follow.”
Still back in game form, Green said returning to the team was difficult just before the Warriors embarked on a five-game road trip.
“I was exhausted this morning,” he said. … But I came with you [Warriors trainer] rick [Celebrini] Today I did some sort of full body cleanse and got my limbs back on the right track, did a good activation session.
While the bodywork certainly helped Green’s performance, it also made an impression to be back at home on the bay.
“I saw my little girls, so that helped too,” Green said with a smile.
If Green continues to improve and lead on the pitch, the Warriors’ chances of a fourth championship with the veteran will certainly increase.
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