The Golden State Warriors are about to line up for their 11th straight NBA Christmas Day game as they travel to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets. Amidst the anticipation around the fixture, a suspended Draymond Green has made the headlines all over again. A 2021 rant from the 33-year-old has recently resurfaced adding a different layer of excitement to the matchup.
Advertisement
On the occasion, the team had to travel to Arizona to go up against their Western Conference rivals, the Phoenix Suns. It resulted in him missing out on a second consecutive Christmas with his family, something he was infuriated about during the post-match conference. “I have a 7-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 1-year-old. I wanna spend some time at home with my kids too,” he mentioned.
Following this, the 4x champion publicly downplayed the importance of the matchup. He cited an away game against the 2021 NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks as the only logical explanation behind traveling on Xmas. Draymond stated, “We’re not playing against the defending champion. We’re playing against the defending champion, you understand. But we’re not”.
At the time, countless fans around the league construed Green’s comments as disrespectful towards the Phoenix Suns, and the NBA as a whole. The popular rationale amongst the NBA community seemed to be that the star was earning a fortune, so he had little room to complain, even if he would play away from home on Christmas.
However, Green was justified in his statement. He and the Warriors were forced to go away from home on Christmas day in 2020 as well, with the team playing the Bucks in Milwaukee. It only stands to reason that players get to play at home every alternate Christmas, at the bare minimum, something that would prevent them from missing too many of the holidays with their families.
The Warriors’ 2020 and 2021 schedule on the holiday only becomes more egregious when it is compared to the Lakers’. The Purple and Gold had a three-year stretch (2019, 2020, 2021) where they were given the luxury of playing games on the holiday. Especially given the fact that the Warriors are in the same state, and have a similarly strong fanbase, this kind of favoritism towards the LA team only seems unfair.
Two years later, Draymond Green may have somewhat got his wish. The Warriors played at home against the Grizzlies on Christmas day in 2022. While they haven’t been quite as lucky in 2023 as they have been scheduled to play in Denver, they will be facing off against the Nuggets, the reigning champions of the NBA.
That said, Green will be unavailable for the game, due to the NBA placing an indefinite suspension on the player after he took a swing at Jusuf Nurkic in the middle of an NBA game. If there is a silver lining for him here, it is that he will be able to celebrate Christmas with his family this year.
As for the rest of the Warriors, they would prefer to extend their 5-game unbeaten streak while simultaneously improving their Christmas Day record. With a 6-4 record on these festive-day games, the team could test their limits further without Draymond. However, given that Draymond Green was the main option to guard Nikola Jokic in prior meetings, it is likely that he will be sorely missed.
The Golden State Warriors embrace a demanding challenge with Draymond Green
Despite an inconsistent start to the regular season, the organization has recovered well in the past few matches. With a 15-14 record in this campaign now, they still have the possibility of entering the playoff race. Amidst the array of opportunities, however, the team is faced with multiple question marks.
A huge concern among them is the apparent off-form of Stephen Curry on Xmas. Three of the Warriors’ six victories in the last 10 came without their talisman. The point guard himself is on a 4-5 run on Christmas days due to his poor shooting on the special day.
For the upcoming game, the roster needs their 2x MVP to step up the most. At the same time, without Draymond, they need different solutions to diminish the effectiveness of the opposition’s 2x MVP. As concerns cloud the minds of the Bay Area faithful, the team aims to answer them on the basketball court.
