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 still only have one loss on the season.

Then, Golden State travels to San Antonio to face the red-hot Spurs in back-to-back games, one being an NBA Cup matchup. The road trip ends with the squad in New Orleans to face the Pelicans. It’s a tough week.

Draymond Green knows that better than anyone. The four-time NBA champ spoke about the grueling week 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,” stated Dray.

He’s right. If the Warriors come out of this week winning at least two games they’ll be feeling like themselves again. That is possible against the Thunder. The champs are still without Jalen Williams, and yet are still putting their foot to the neck of everyone they face. Green acknowleded that just because Jalen is sidelined, it doesn’t mean the showdown won’t be difficult.

“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/ Greg Popovich 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, Dray knows this. He then brought up reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the terror he gives to opposing defenses.

“Shai is having another MVP-like year,” stated Green. “Got to try and defend him without fouling. We know how tough of 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.”

SGA has started this season like an incendiary bomb. He’s averaging 32 PPG and has dropped 35, 30, 35, 30, and 30 in his last five games. Eventually this guy is going to have an off night. For Draymond and the Warriors sake, let’s hope it’s tonight.

Because the Warriors are currently 6-5 and are currently in 7th place in the West. Sure, it’s early on and there’s plenty of ground to make up, but getting at least 1 win this week might be necessary. Fortunately, the schedule gets a little easier after this hellacious week. Next Tuesday, they face the Magic, then the Heat, Blazers, and Jazz. Obviously, nothing is guaranteed but those should be dubs for the Dubs.

Draymond clearly feels the urgency, and he’s not wrong. Snag a couple wins here, and suddenly the vibes shift, the standings look less claustrophobic, and the team can breathe again. It’s a tough ask, but one that Warriors coach Steve Kerr has delivered on in the past.