Golden State Warriors ahead Draymond Green known as out the crew’s psychological fortitude on Friday whereas chatting with reporters after observe. The Warriors are again in San Francisco after a disastrous highway journey, throughout which they went 1-5 and misplaced Steph Curry for a month as a result of a shoulder damage.
“Right now, I believe we’re very fragile,” Green mentioned. “You begin going by way of these items and then you definitely begin believing them. Once you begin believing them, it turns into who you’re. The solely solution to break them is by being mentally robust.
“When you look again at [the win over the Celtics on Dec. 10], it was one the place you are feeling like you possibly can construct some momentum now and it is time to begin turning the web page. We did flip the web page. It simply went the mistaken approach versus the best approach.”
At 15-18, the Warriors at the moment sit in eleventh place within the Western Conference, which leaves them exterior of even the play-in match image. Even earlier than this tough highway journey and Curry’s damage, this had been a irritating begin to the Warriors’ title protection.
Green acknowledged as a lot, saying the crew has “struggled from the spirit perspective since [the road trip began]. He added that “It’s a bit extra irritating. … You could make what you need of it being on the highway versus being at residence, but it surely’s psychological. It’s a crew struggling mentally. And that makes it onerous to beat the rest.”
One issue for the crew’s poor spirit, which Green failed to say, is that he punched Jordan Poole within the face throughout coaching camp. The two each mentioned the best issues within the aftermath and pledged to maneuver on, however that is a lot simpler mentioned than executed given the circumstances. There’s no solution to quantify precisely how a lot that incident has affected the Warriors this season, however there is not any query that it modified the vibes.
If there’s any silver lining for the Warriors, it is that nobody has run away with the West. They’re nonetheless solely 3.5 video games out of a top-six spot, and 1.5 video games out of the play-in match. While Green mentioned that the Warriors’ points cannot be fastened with the “snap of a finger,” he would nonetheless again his crew come playoff time — so long as they will discover a approach in.
“I really feel sorry for the 1- or 2-seeds if we’re in [the play-in tournament],” Green mentioned.
The Warriors will host the Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m. ET on Christmas in one of many marquee video games of the day. Despite Curry’s absence, it must be a fiery affair given the crew’s aggressive playoff matchup final season and Ja Morant’s latest feedback that no crew frightens him within the West.
