Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green is dealing with an injury.
The team announced that Green won’t return to Thursday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers because of a right foot injury. He went to the locker room after Dominick Barlow came down on his leg.
After the game, ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported that Green was in a walking boot. The Warriors veteran said he hopes to keep playing through the injury.
Green, who is now in his 14th season, is putting up 8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game this year, once again serving as a key part of the Warriors’ lineup. He’s coming off a season in which he stayed healthy for most of the year, but missed 14 games because of a few different minor injuries.
He’ll look to avoid an extensive period on the injury report as he tries to help Golden State figure things out after a rough start.
The Warriors, who are in their first full season of the Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Green trio, are 11-11 through the first part of the season and came into Thursday’s game having dropped five of their last seven contests.
Green diagnosed the Warriors’ problems last week, calling out the defense specifically.
“Our defense is s–t,” Green told reporters. “Because it’s not necessarily the numbers, it’s like, how do you feel when you’re out there, you know? It’s just let down after let down. It’s bigger than the numbers. Defense is about demeanor. Let down after let down, it kills your demeanor, it kills your bravado, and then you’re just a soft team. It’s bigger than the numbers.”
Numbers-wise, the Warriors have statistically been worse on offense this year. They have the 23rd-ranked offensive rating, compared to the seventh-best defensive rating, per NBA.com.
Clearly, Green thinks the issues are on the defensive end, and Golden State’s defense will suffer even more if the former Defensive Player of the Year has to miss time.