Warriors’ Draymond Green Rips Team After Rockets Loss

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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Draymond Green didn't hold back when it came to his team's glaring issues in a disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. With Kevin Durant missing from the opponents' lineup, the Golden State Warriors dropped the home game 104-100.

At halftime, the Warriors led 59-49, but their defensive issues became glaring in the second half, as Houston outscored them 27-17 in the third quarter. The Rockets continued the trend in the fourth, with the home team unable to gain or hold any lead.

"Our defense is s***," Green stated to a reporter after the game, adding, "Because it's not necessarily the numbers. How do you feel when you're out there? A letdown is a letdown. It's bigger than the numbers."

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The Warriors vet suggested that while the coaches might give excellent defensive schemes, they require "individuals to take on your challenge" on defense.

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green against Portland

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"The only way the team thing is gonna work is if we take on individual challenges. Right now, we are individually, and I know everybody likes to twist words. I said, we are f***ing individually awful," Green said.

"Our rotations suck. I'm not helping great, so it's a domino effect," he mentioned, adding, "Point of attack must always be great, but when you get beat at point of attack, then what happens? And right now we kinda suck at that."

"I think you agree we shoulda won tonight. You have bad losses, and that's what you are. A .500 team. You lose games you should win," he said, calling the Warriors "a very average team."

Defensively, the Warriors rank statistically among the league's upper half. Golden State ranks No. 12 in points allowed with 114.5 per game, but No. 15 in opponents' field goal percentage at 46.7 percent. According to Statmuse, the team has the league's seventh-best defensive rating at 111.7. However, the Rockets are considered fourth-best with a 110.8 rating.

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Green's teammate, Jimmy Butler, also called out the defense in his postgame comments, indicating, "We don't box out. We don't go with the scouting report. We let anybody do whatever they want. … It's just sad."

The loss to the Houston Rockets dropped Golden State to 10-10 on the season, with a 6-2 home record. Adding to the latest loss was Warriors star Stephen Curry limping off the court. According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Sam Gordon, Curry is dealing with a right quad contusion and will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.

According to Butler, the team might "have to be damn near perfect" to win games without the two-time NBA MVP in the lineup.

Golden State gets a few days off to celebrate Thanksgiving, contemplate its issues, and recalibrate for its next game. They'll play the 3-16 New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, a team at the bottom of the Western Conference standings that most expect they should beat on any given night.

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