Draymond Green has had a campaign full of suspensions this season. Merely a few weeks after receiving a five-game suspension for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold, Green was slapped with a much bigger penalty during the Golden State Warriors’ 12th December clash against the Phoenix Suns. At one point in the fixture, the veteran defender hit Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic in the head after which he was ejected. Only a day later, the NBA decided to “indefinitely suspend” the four-time champion.
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Now as the Warriors struggle to stay afloat in the West, fans are probably wondering when Draymond Green’s suspension ends. The Warriors have lost their last three games and are currently 11th on the table with a record of 15-17. Steph Curry and Co. are in desperate need of Green to save the season as the new year begins.
Last month, almost a week after Green’s suspension, Shams Charania revealed some updates on the incident. According to Charania, the 6ft 6” star has started his counseling process and would continue to be sidelined for at least three weeks. “Warriors’ four-time NBA champion Draymond Green has started counseling process and is expected to remain sidelined via suspension for at least the next three weeks, sources say,” he wrote on X(Twitter).
Two weeks have already passed since the four-time All-Star was penalized with the indefinite suspension. In this span, the Golden State Warriors have played nine games, missing out on their defensive leader’s services. During this nine-game stretch, Stephen Curry and Co. have gone 5-4. As things started to look slightly different for the team during their five-game win streak, they suffered consecutive losses and are currently amid a three-game skid.
According to the Charania’s three-week absence report, the earliest that Draymond Green can make his return will be for the 10th January clash against the New Orleans Pelicans. However, it’s uncertain if his return will be further delayed.
Even though Steve Kerr has managed to make some beneficial adjustments to the rotation, the team is certainly missing Draymond and will hope that the power forward can step on to the floor at the earliest.
Jonathan Kuminga has replaced Draymond Green in the starting lineup
Steve Kerr has made some adjustments to the lineup as mentioned earlier. Apart from showing faith in Jonathan Kuminga by allowing him to start, Andrew Wiggins has been demoted to the bench. Warriors fans were pleased to witness both the forwards put on some incredible performances.
During this nine-game period, Kuminga displayed a lot of promise for the future. Elevating his performance, JK averaged 14 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists during this span, while also being extremely effective on the defensive end.
On the other hand, Wiggins didn’t seem frustrated when he was taken out of the starting lineup. In fact, the All-Star, being the true professional that he is known to be, used this move as an inspiration. While co-leading the team’s second unit alongside Chris Paul, Wiggins has put up a solid numbers- 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in merely 25.4 minutes per game.
Despite the two forwards stepping up in Green’s absence, the Warriors cannot possibly make up for the defensive energy that the latter brought on a nightly basis. After losing their third consecutive game, Kerr admitted that the team was missing out on “grit”, a trait that Green has been responsible for helping the Warriors with.
While Stephen Curry has undoubtedly been the best player for the Golden State Warriors, for the past decade, Green has been touted as the heartbeat of the team. Despite suffering back-to-back losses with Dray sidelined, each of his teammates would hope for him to come back stronger, and as a better and improved human being and player.
