Steph Curry's offensive brilliance deservedly garnered the majority of headlines during the Golden State Warriors' dynasty, but Draymond Green's defensive prowess also paved the way to their championship runs. Unfortunately for Green, he can see that his time as a defensive dynamo is coming to a close.
The Warriors came into the season with the hope that they could make one last run as a dark horse title contender in the Western Conference. Friday night's loss to the Denver Nuggets provided Golden State with a sober reminder of just how far away they are from being legitimate contenders.
There's no shame in losing to Denver without Stephen Curry in the lineup, but the manner of the loss was disconcerting. The Warriors gave up 129 points against Nikola Jokic and company and looked incapable of slowing the Nuggets down. That prompted Green to admit to reporters that he has "failed" to help his team forge a quality defense on the young season.
Draymond Green is part of the problem with the Warriors defense
Some fans might say that drawing lasting conclusions about the Warriors' defense after just 10 games is an example of overreacting to a small sample size. The truth is, the team's struggles to defend this year are just an extension of a long-term trend. Green's not the same athlete at the age of 35 that he was back in his athletic prime. He's still capable of moments of defensive brilliance, but he's no longer the indefatigable fulcrum he was for head coach Steve Kerr in previous seasons.
Green isn't the only culprit for his team's current defensive struggles, no matter what he might tell the media. Acquiring Al Horford as a versatile big man was supposed to help boost the team's ability to switch at the point of attack. The idea was that playing he and Green together would lead to loads of deflections and steals to make up for the team's lack of rim protection.
Horford hasn't looked like the same player he was in Boston just a season ago. Golden State can reasonably hope his performance will improve after a truncated training camp, but it's also possible that Horford has just reached the end of his distinguished career. There are not a lot of 39-year-old big men who possess the quickness to switch onto smaller players at the end of their careers.
Green's defensive workload could also be lightened by better effort from the team's backcourt. Curry lacks the athletic profile to be an elite defender, but he makes up for it with quickness and savvy. It's unlikely he can give the defense anything more when he returns from injury.
Jimmy Butler was an elite defender earlier in his career, but he's also on the wrong side of the NBA age curve. Like Green, he can still dial things up and make elite defensive plays on occasion, but he isn't going to be a consistent star given all he's required to do on offense.
The best hope for defensive improvement in Golden State would be for the younger players on the roster to give them more. Jonathan Kuminga has the athletic tools required to be a good defender, but he's never been able to master the team's system. The rest of the team's younger bench just doesn't feature much defensive potential. Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Quentin Post can give the team added offensive punch, but all have significant defensive weaknesses.
In the end, Warriors fans should expect Green's defensive frustrations to continue. Golden State might enjoy a little improvement as veterans get healthy and adjust to Kerr's system, but the roster does not possess the defensive talent required to be anything more than average. That might be hard for Green to swallow after years of brilliance on that end of the floor, but it's his new reality with the Warriors.