The Golden State Warriors’ matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers marked the start of the new 2024-25 NBA season for them. However, it resulted in a familiar outcome for Draymond Green. The hot-tempered forward picked up a technical foul in the first game of the season at Moda Center and was almost ejected from the contest as well.
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Head Coach Steve Kerr stood up for Green in the post-game presser, saying that such incidents are indicative of the Dubs forward’s passion for the game. However, NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith wasn’t impressed at all by the veteran star’s actions.
He addressed some words of wisdom to Green to ensure that last season’s problems don’t haunt the Warriors again. Smith said on ESPN’s ‘First Take’.
“Listen, off the court, [Green is a] great man, great person. Got a bright future in a lot of areas. But you got to reel yourself in. If you’re not willing to do that for the first game of the regular season, when are you going to do it?”
Green received a technical foul at the 2:20 mark of the second quarter during the road game yesterday. Once a player reaches 16 technical fouls in a season, they receive a one-game suspension. Fortunately, his technical didn’t negatively affect the Warriors as they left Portland with a 139-104 win.
However, Smith doesn’t see it as a good sign that the Dubs forward received a technical in a relatively easy matchup early into the season. This doesn’t set the right tone for the rest of the season, which is only going to get tougher progressively.
Green’s track record doesn’t allow the four-time champion the benefit of the doubt. In the 2023-24 season, Green accumulated 10 technical fouls. He also received an indefinite suspension for a sucker punch to the head of Suns big man Jusuf Nurkic. The action came only a month after he put 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, into a headlock.
Draymond wasn’t the only member of the Warriors who received criticism from Smith for his decision-making. The ESPN reporter called out head coach Steve Kerr for his 13-man rotation in their win against the Blazers as well.
“Did that man Steve Kerr…open the season talking about I got 13 guys, I found it difficult not to play 13 guys. This is the same man that told Jayson Tatum, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to have any minutes for you in a 10-man rotation,‘” Smith said.
Meanwhile, Smith’s guest on the show, Brian Windhorst, pointed out that Kerr played 11 guys just in the first quarter. This triggered Stephen A. because Kerr clearly contradicted his statements made while serving as the head coach of Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Despite winning a gold medal, Kerr made it imperative not to break his 10-man rotation. As a result, players like Tatum barely got any minutes in the American side’s gold medal campaign.
Even though this contradiction may confuse fans, the Dubs head coach has other things to worry about at the start of the season.
Kerr and the Warriors have areas to improve on this season
No player on the Golden State Warriors played more than 25 minutes against the Trail Blazers. However, Kerr’s rotations didn’t prove costly in large part due to the opponent they were facing. In their efforts to be a competitive team, a 13-man rotation won’t withstand against the contenders in the Western Conference.
Golden State struggled to play defense without fouling. They committed 27 personal fouls, which gave Portland 30 free throws. The Warriors were in the middle of the pack defensively last season ranked 15th. They’ll need to replicate that production this season by not fouling their opponent.
Due to their style of play offensively, the Warriors have always been more prone to commit turnovers. However, following Klay Thompson’s departure to the Mavericks, the personnel change will require the team to be more cautious about taking care of the ball.
Many teams in the West are better than the Warriors at this point. This doesn’t mean Golden State can’t be a competitive team in their conference. Focusing on these areas can ensure the Warriors will return to the playoffs this season.
