OAKLAND — When the Warriors convene Thursday to study video of their 123-109 loss to the Raptors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, there is no doubt DeMarcus Cousins will hate what he sees of himself.
Draymond Green, however, doesn’t need to wait for any video for his self-assessment. He graded himself harshly enough Wednesday night, 45 minutes after the game.
“If I was better,” he said, “we probably would have won that game.”
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And he’s probably right.
Green, through 18 games this postseason, has been the most consistently effective Warrior. He’s racking up triple-doubles, driving the offense at supersonic pace and defensively wrapping opponents in blankets — particularly at pivotal moments of crucial games.
That Draymond was MIA in postseason game No. 19.
Which all too often left Steph Curry without much support for his magnificence. Despite Toronto’s commitment to contain him, Curry poured in a playoff career-high 47 points, becoming the ninth player in NBA history to top 45 points in a Finals game. He drilled 3-pointers (6 of 14), he drove into the paint and he dropped in 13 of 14 free throws.
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Curry also led the Warriors in rebounds with eight and assists with seven.
“He was amazing,” Green said of Curry. “I’ve got to play better and offer him more help. If I played better, with the night that he had, we would have won. So, we need him to continue to be aggressive like he's been, and all of us got to continue to fill in and be better.”
With Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both sidelined with injuries, the likeliest sidekicks for Curry were the team’s remaining All-Stars: Green and Cousins.
Green scored 17 points (6-of-14 shooting from the field), but eight came in a mostly pointless fourth quarter. He added five rebounds, four assists and three turnovers. His defense was well below his standard, and his energy, which sparks the offense, was oddly inconsistent.
“We got to be more solid with the ball — and it starts with me,” Green said. “I've had a bunch of turnovers in I think every game this series. So just take ... be more cautious with our passes. I think [the Raptors] do have a lot of length, but we’ve got to play in more space and not play in a crowd.”
It was predictable that Green would slap himself around. He’s unfailingly honest and unflinchingly critical of himself when fails to deliver. He understands that comes with being a member of the team’s leadership council.
Cousins surely knew he didn’t play well. Though he played nine fewer minutes in Game 3 than he did in a fine Game 2, and he was in some discomfort, according to Kerr, Boogie neither blamed himself nor made excuses.
“It was fine,” was his post-sigh response to a question about whether there was any hangover from the 28 minutes he played in Game 2 on Sunday in just his second game back after a six-week absence after tearing a quadriceps muscle.
“I think he’s fine,” Kerr said. “He went to the locker room ... just to get checked out.”
Cousins is as offensively skilled as any big man in the league, and he flashed some of his gifts in Game 2, collecting 11 points (3 of 8 from the field, 4 of 4 from the line), 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. He outplayed Toronto center Marc Gasol by a considerable margin.
That Boogie didn’t make it to Oracle, as he spread four points (1-of-7 shooting), three rebounds, two assists and three turnovers over 19 unsatisfying minutes.
“There was just no rhythm tonight. No flow,” Cousins said. “Outside of Steph playing as well as he did, we didn’t really provide a lot of help. It’s on us as his teammates. We’ve got to step up.”
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That was the pregame mandate. The Warriors were without their full regiment and the best of the veterans — with Green and Cousins leading the way — were assigned to fill the void. Had they succeeded, the two-time defending champs likely would have a two games to one lead in the best-of-seven series.
Instead, they are down two games to one, with Toronto regaining home-court advantage.
“We’ll come in tomorrow. We’ll go over film. We’ll look at our mistakes,” Cousins said. “Same thing we did from Game 1. And we’ll adjust.”
That adjustment must come in the form of improvement from Green and Cousins — especially if Thompson and/or Durant isn’t ready. Proud men both, they almost certainly will be better.