Veteran Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green left for the locker room after a scary incident in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
According to ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Green “walked around wobbly” after being struck in the side of the head with a cross-court pass from Stephen Curry.
“Steph Curry accidentally nailed a nearby Draymond Green in the side of the head with a crosscourt pass,” Slater wrote on X. “Green walked around wobbly for a second and then went to the locker room, asking for a substitution.”
Fortunately, Green returned to the court shortly after the incident. In his post-game interview, Green did not address the incident, suggesting that he was perfectly fine.
Warriors Suffer Second Loss
The Warriors had their two-game streak snapped despite playing against a depleted Bucks team without superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr felt that Antetokounmpo’s absence led to his players taking the game lightly, which led to their surprise 120-110 drubbing.
“It shouldn’t be that way, because we’re like 0-12 the last couple of years when the stars don’t play,” Kerr said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I just told our coaches, ‘If I [were] an opposing coach, I would just sit the star every time.’”
Kerr went onto suggest that the Warriors could be in trouble again the next time they face a star-less team, as their pre-game preparation takes a hit.
“As a staff, as soon as you hear that the star is out, you’re terrified, because we’ve just seen it a million times,” Kerr said. “Every NBA team is loaded with talent. We saw those guys out there, you know, firing threes — everybody can play in this league.
“And when the star sits, everybody gets excited. This game did not surprise me.”
Warriors Have High Hopes
The Warriors (+1500) own the sixth-shortest odds to win the NBA title, per ESPNBet, behind Western Conference rivals such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets. However, Green, Stephen Curry and others have spoken glowingly about the vibe of the current roster, comparing it to the 2021-22 season, which ended with the fourth championship in the Steve Kerr era.
“I want to win another championship this year, and I think we have the team to do that,” Dray said on his podcast, via Basketball Network.
“I always say one of the most important things you need when you’re trying to compete for a championship is lineup versatility — being able to go small, go big, go defensive, or go shooting,” he continued.
“You need to have that variety in the lineups you can put on the floor, and we have that again. It’s exciting.”
Draymond isn’t very far off. The Warriors have a reliable nine-man rotation in Green, Curry, Jimmy Butler III, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Al Horford, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody and Gary Payton II, with De’Anthony Melton nearing a return from injury.
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