It hasn't always been pretty for the Golden State Warriors this season, but they appear to be getting hot at the perfect time. While they are the tenth seed, and will almost certainly have to participate in the Play-In Tournament in order to make the postseason, things are starting to look up for them. And if you ask Klay Thompson, Draymond Green could be the key to a deep run this year.
The Warriors 2023-24 campaign has been defined by Stephen Curry struggling to get much help from his supporting cast, but guys are finally starting to figure things out with the playoffs drawing near. According to Thompson, though, Green is going to have to do what he can to stay out of trouble, because when he's getting himself ejected from games, he's leaving a massive hole in his absence.
“When you’re not out there, it’s like a piece of us is gone. And me and Steph are really nice guys, probably too nice. We could never be ourselves and have the freedom we do on the court without you. So when you’re not out there, it’s kind of like a huge kink in our armor. And I know that other team is very happy you’re not out there. I just know that for a fact, they relax a little bit, they let their hair down, they pump their chest up a little bit more because our muscle's gone, our enforcer, the heartbeat of our team is not out there.” – Klay Thompson, The Draymond Green Show
Klay Thompson knows Draymond Green is key to Warriors title hopes
Green has been involved in all sorts of trouble this season, and it's clear he has been frustrating everyone on his team throughout the season, with Curry being visibly upset after his latest ejection against the Orlando Magic. Thompson noted that the Warriors have a real shot to win a title this season, which is why they can't afford to have Green getting ejected as the stakes of their games moving forward become bigger and bigger.
“It does hurt but at the end of the day, we’ve been through so many battles, reached the mountaintop, been down the mountain, had to climb back up, got there again. And now we have another real shot at this, it’s been a couple of tough years, but we’re still fighting, we’re still in the mix. So it does hurt, it can be disappointing in the moment, but it will never take away what’s ahead of us and what we’ve done.” – Klay Thompson, The Draymond Green Show
It's going to be difficult for the Warriors to go on a deep playoff run with the Play-In Tournament lurking, so it makes sense that Thompson is trying to stress to his longtime teammate how badly they need him on the floor. Whether or not Thompson's message gets through to Green is extremely important, and it could end up determining just how far this team is able to go in the postseason.
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