We’ve long witnessed marvelous things Draymond Green does for the Warriors, from wrecking opposing offensive sets to smothering those who challenge his individual defense, to freeing Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson for open shots even when defenses know it’s coming.

Winning Draymond. The man who rallies the troops and connects the game at both ends. 

That’s who the Warriors are going to need to climb out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves.

That’s not the Draymond Green we’ve seen lately.

He has been too careless with his passes, too inefficient with his shooting and too much like someone who doesn’t meet Draymond’s standard. It’s hurting the Warriors – and it’s spreading a coating of dust over the remarkable legacy he has built since 2014.

The Warriors on Thursday night donated a game to the Phoenix Suns. Gave it away with 20 turnovers that led to 30 points. Twenty turnovers in the second half were too much for the Warriors to overcome, and it ensured a 99-98 loss.

Draymond was responsible for five of the turnovers, with 10 of his teammates sprinkling the other 15. This comes four days after he committed eight of Golden State’s 18 turnovers and welcomed the blame in a 136-131 loss to the Trail Blazers in Portland.

“Just making bad reads, bad decisions,” Green told reporters Sunday in Portland. “(I’ve got to) be more decisive, take better care of it. I’m too f—–g old to be doing that.”

And yet, two practices later, there was another dud on Thursday.

“I’m just going to throw the pass when I know it’s there instead of second-guessing,” Green told reporters in Phoenix. “I’m a great f—–g passer. So, if I see the pass there, I’m not second-guessing. I’m just going to throw it. If I turn it over, I turn it over.

“But I’m a great passer, so I won’t second-guess my passing. I’m just going to throw it when I know it’s there.”

Those two statements provide a glimpse into what has made Draymond worthy of the Hall of Fame. He’s professional enough to acknowledge valid criticism and stubborn enough to keep believing in himself despite two forgettable performances. It’s a second-round pick mentality that has led to some of the highest honors the NBA has to offer.

With the Warriors dropping into ninth place with a 13-15 record, everyone on the roster is searching for answers. They lost a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and the game when Curry scored 48 points, 21 in the fourth quarter.  They lost a 14-point third-quarter lead and the game when Jimmy Butler III tallied 31 points.

Even with coach Steve Kerr in his 12th season of urging better ball security and his seventh season of pleading for it, one of his stars commits 13 turnovers over a two-game span at a time when the Warriors need a stretch of stellar play to at least look like a team capable of winning a playoff series.

“He’s trying too hard right now,” Kerr said of Green after the loss to the Suns. “He’s such a competitor, he’s trying too hard to make plays and just needs to slow down a little.”

Kerr has a point. Some of Draymond’s passes are forced, some are easily anticipated by opponents who spend a few minutes studying video of Golden State’s offense. It would not be difficult to produce a 10-minute video of Draymond not playing at the level that has made him and the franchise a winner. Champions.

There is no championship on the horizon for Golden State this season. Not even close. Not with this roster and not the way this team is playing.

“We’re not making winning plays,” Green said in Phoenix. “We’re not making winning plays.”

Winning plays are precisely what have made Green so valuable to the Warriors. They’d like to believe, at 36, he still can summon winning plays. He believes he can, and there have been flashes this season.

Draymond knows he needs to be better. He is being challenged to meet the standard he set for himself, and the Warriors are in deep trouble if he can’t at least come close.

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