Getty Image / Thearon W Henderson
Despite being favored to advance to a second consecutive Western Conference Finals when they were matched up with the Los Angeles Lakers in round 2, the Golden State Warriors now find themselves having been eliminated from the playoffs.
There are plenty of players who should shoulder blame for the Warriors’ elimination.
Jordan Poole just about disappeared after Game 1.
Klay Thompson was ice cold the last 3 games of the series.
Draymond Green and Kevon Looney were both liabilities on offense throughout the series.
However, it appears Draymond Green believes that the Warriors’ downfall can be traced back to something that happened much earlier in the season.
While on the Stephen A Smith broadcast for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Draymond revealed that he believes the Warriors would still be in the playoffs if he hadn’t punched Jordan Poole.
Draymond speaks on how his altercation with Jordan Poole affected Warriors' season.@Money23Green | @stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/ZSSE3yhyE2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 17, 2023
“We’re not playing right now, because when you speak about the fouling, when you speak about all of the slippage we had as a team on the road, not being able to come together,” Draymond Green told Stephen A. Smith. “None of those things happen if that doesn’t happen, because the voice that I am and the departments that I lead this team in, there was a ton of slippage due to me sitting back, me not saying anything, me trying to allow that situation to play itself out and give it time to heal.”
Green added that he didn’t begin to feel like himself again and start speaking up about the way the team was playing until February and it was too late by then.
Now the Warriors have a full offseason to try and get their issues figured out.
If not, we could have actually seen the end of the Warriors dynasty this season.