On Sunday, the Golden State Warriors suffered their 34th defeat of the season via a 110-114 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The loss has opened the door for the surging Houston Rockets, who are only one game behind Steve Kerr‘s team for 10th place in the Western Conference, which is the final play-in tournament spot.
During his postgame press conference, Draymond Green discussed Golden State’s defensive issues. He explained how the team isn’t communicating at a high level, which is producing unwanted breakdowns in their coverages. Those coverages lead to losses, especially against elite teams such as Minnesota.
“We have too many breakdowns,” Green said. “You just can’t win having breakdowns. When you have breakdowns, it changes momentum. And momentum in this league is not easy to get back. … We’re a very quiet team. So, you have issues on defense when you have bad communication.”
Green is a generational defensive talent. He reads the game at a different level than most of his peers. However, he can’t anchor a defense that isn’t locked in and doesn’t verbalize what they’re seeing on the court. Perhaps that’s why the Warriors are 18th in the league for defensive rating.
The Warriors need to get back into the win column. Otherwise, the Rockets are going to overtake them in the standings, and that could cost the veteran core a chance to compete in the playoffs, where they could turn their season around.
