Draymond Green Previews Warriors’ Matchup vs Thunder, Calls Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ‘A Full-Team Assignment’
The Golden State Warriors have a tough road trip ahead of them. The Dubs are in Oklahoma this evening, battling the defending champion Thunder, who have only one loss on the season.
It’s the first of a stretch of difficult road games, and in all honesty, OKC is the toughest matchup they could have gotten to begin the trip. Then, Golden State travels to San Antonio to face the red-hot Spurs in back-to-back games, one of which is an NBA Cup matchup. The road trip ends with the squad in New Orleans to face the Pelicans.
It’s a week that could very well define what the Warriors’ realistic ambitions are this season, and Draymond Green knows that better than anyone. The four-time NBA champ spoke about the grueling stretch ahead on the latest edition of his podcast.
“This is an important week for us to win, and if you win this week, you gain some ground, and you gain confidence. Very big week for us,” said Green.
The four-time NBA champion is right. If the Warriors come out of this week with at least two wins, they’ll start feeling like themselves again. It won’t be easy, but there’s a chance they could get the better of the Thunder, with their star Jalen Williams sidelined by injury. Still, OKC has been putting its foot on the neck of every team it’s faced.
Green acknowledged that just because Jalen is out, it doesn’t mean the matchup will be any less challenging.
“Playing OKC is obviously always tough. They’re the defending champs for a reason, and they’re hungry still. They’re missing J-Dub, and they’re playing like this.” The defensive guru likened this Thunder squad to the Tim Duncan and Greg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs dynasty.
“Reminds me a lot of the old San Antonio Spurs. They were never going to beat themselves. You are going to have to beat them, and that’s this OKC team.”
It’s a good comparison in the sense that OKC doesn’t make too many mistakes. They execute what they’re good at and don’t beat themselves. Again, Green knows this.
“Shai is having another MVP-like year,” stated Green. “Got to try and defend him without fouling. We know how tough an assignment that is. I think for us, it has to be understood that Shai is not a one-person assignment. Shai is a full-team assignment. And that has to be a mindset for us in this game.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has started this season like an incendiary bomb. He’s averaging 32 points per game and has dropped 35, 30, 35, 30, and 30 in his last five outings. Eventually, he’s bound to have an off night. Draymond and the Warriors will be hoping that night is tonight.
The Warriors sit at 6-5 and currently hold the seventh seed in the West. Sure, it’s still early and there’s plenty of ground to make up, but picking up at least one win this week feels necessary. Fortunately, the schedule eases up after this brutal stretch. Next Tuesday, they’ll face the Magic, followed by the Heat, Blazers, and Jazz. Nothing is guaranteed, but on paper, those should be dubs for the Dubs.
Draymond clearly feels the urgency, and he’s not wrong. Steal a couple of wins this week, and suddenly the vibes shift, the standings look less claustrophobic, and the team can finally breathe again. It’s a tough ask, but one that Steve Kerr and the Warriors have answered before.
