For the last few weeks, nearly every Warriors press conference has included the two Ds at some point: Defense and Draymond Green.
The Draymond wait continues, just as coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors hope their defense can be fixed without him, for the time being.
Green didn't make the trip to Portland following the All-Star break and is set to miss his 22nd straight game Thursday night, if you include the seven seconds he played in Klay Thompson's first game back on Jan. 9. While the wait goes on, Steph Curry hasn't grown impatient and is doing his best to simply treat Green's absence just how he would with any other player -- though he knows there's only one Draymond.
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SIGN UP HERE "It's like every injury," Curry said Wednesday night after practice. "A little different with a floating target of when he'll be back. It doesn't necessarily change how we tried to get past these last 20-something games without him and what this hopefully small segment will be until he does come back."
During the All-Star Game, which was Draymond's fourth time receiving the honor, he said he's shooting for a return in the next three to four weeks from what first was a calf injury before being diagnosed as a back issue. He has previously said he isn't feeling any pain in his calf or back, that if he takes longer to return than intended that doesn't mean there has been a setback and that he wants to return as close to full strength as possible or even better.
If Green were to return three weeks from the All-Star Game, that would be Sunday, March 13 -- or one day after the Warriors play Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks. Four weeks from that exact date would be March 20, when the Warriors play the San Antonio Spurs. If Green does return for that highly-anticipated Bucks game, that would give him 15 games left in the regular-season before his real season begins.
The Warriors of course will take their do-it-all point-forward back whenever he can return. The sooner the better, and that's certainly true with Kerr tightening his rotations as the playoffs near. In Golden State's final game before the break, a 117-116 last-second loss to the Denver Nuggets where they gave up 39 points in the fourth quarter and the buzzer-beater to Monte Morris, Kerr gave nine players minutes.
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No Juan Toscano-Anderson. No Damion Lee. No Moses Moody. No Chris Chiozza.
So, how long will it take for Kerr to solidify his rotations once he gets another All-Star back? That's about the last thing he's worried about with Green.
"I don't think that long," Kerr said. "The fact that Draymond and Klay have played together for so many years, I don't think they need that much time together to really click.
"But if a guy's coming back from injury for the playoffs, sure is nice to get a handful of games under that player's belt and as a group as well."
Curry agrees. We still haven't seen the Big Three of Steph, Klay and Draymond really share the floor together since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals. It has been well over a month since his longtime teammate last saw game action. This is Draymond Green, though.
Throw your worries out the window.
"That transition will be pretty smooth," Curry said. "We know what he's capable of doing."
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The Warriors have gone 15-11 this season without Green, and 27-6 with him. They still have the No. 1 defensive rating in the NBA, but they have allowed 107.8 points per game while he has been shelved to his back injury, which is much higher than their season average and even worse than when he was available.
Now that there are only 23 games remaining in the regular season, a group of players are about to take a backseat. Green won't be one of them when he's back. Neither will James Wiseman, who continues to scrimmage and progress towards a close return from knee surgery. The same goes with Andre Iguodala, who remains out to his own back injury.
Health remains the Warriors' top priority, and they'll get one of the league's top players back when Green is good to go. He was playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level before he went down, and intends to do so when he returns. Kerr and Co. have their fingers crossed for a healthy squad. The rotations and gelling back together will take care of itself.
"We're really hoping that everything works out health wise for our team and we have everybody available, but we'll see," Kerr said.
Yes, we will.