PHOENIX – The latest nightmare night for a fast-paced Golden State Warriors team began early in the third quarter. In an attempt to revive a weak starting team, Steve Kerr made some radical rotation decisions at half-time. He benched Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney and moved Draymond Green to center to speed up the game and, in Kerr's words, create more space for Steph Curry.
It worked temporarily.
“You saw he got that layup on the first play of the half,” Kerr said of Green.
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But nothing was sustainable for the 10-13 Warriors in 23 games. Part of the problem was Green's lack of consistent availability. He probably remains their second most important player. However, for this to matter, he needs to stay on the field and stay away from the league's disciplinary program.
The Warriors held on to their five-point lead as the third quarter lasted less than nine minutes. Green tried to break free for a post feed in the far right corner near the Warriors' bench. Jusuf Nurkić had his right hand on Green's right hip. In a frantic attempt to get the officer's attention, Green did a 360-degree turn and waved his arms. His right forearm shot Nurkić directly across his left cheek with great force.
This caused Nurkić to fall to the ground for about a minute, triggering an automatic review by the referees. It did not last long. Green was thrown out for a Flagrant 2 and ran around the locker room without denying it, later agreeing it was deserved.
This was the third time this season that Green was ejected. He was sent off in the second half of a close game against the Cavaliers for an altercation with Donovan Mitchell. The Warriors lost to Cleveland. He was ejected when the score was 0-0 for a chokehold on Rudy Gobert in the first quarter. The Warriors lost to the Timberwolves that night. The score was 2-3 during his five-game suspension.
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They were five ahead of the Suns when he hit Nurkić with his spinning forearm. They lost 119-116, meaning they are 2-6 this season in games in which Green was either ejected or suspended.
“Huge momentum,” Kerr said. “We felt good about having him in the middle, spreading the floor and having the shooters out there. We changed the cast. We thought this could really free up some space for Steph and Draymond could use his speed… We need him. We need Draymond. He has to find a way to keep his composure and be out there.”
The spotlight now shifts to the league, which has been transparent in its dealings with Green, letting the world know in official statements that his past violations have resulted in harsher punishments. There will be a review in the next 24 hours and a decision on the suspension is expected before the Warriors play the Clippers in Los Angeles on Thursday night. How long will they be without him?
Green will be part of the review process. He expects a call from the league — Joe Dumars and perhaps Adams Silver — on Wednesday and said he will talk to them. Green remained quiet in the locker room after the game, agreeing to speak to reporters and holding a 13-minute news conference where he previewed what he will surely be defending in the NBA on Wednesday.
“He pulled me by the waist and I turned away to sell the call,” Green said. “I contacted him. As you know, I don't apologize for things I wanted to do. But I apologize to Yusuf. Because I didn't intend to hit him. I sell calls with my arms. I won't sell the call. I'm not a flopper. So I just sold a call. I spun around. Unfortunately I met him.”
Green watched the replay. He agreed that it didn't look good, but reiterated that his intentions were to sell the call, not to hit Nurkić, which, if Green's history is anything to go by, was his playoff kick to the groin from Steven The closest thing to Adams is trying to sell a foul call. In this case, he received no suspension, although the apparent points eventually added up to a one-game suspension in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
But that was several violations ago. The league normally discusses incidents with everyone involved, and Nurkić didn't seem too sympathetic to Green's explanation that it was unintentional.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” Nurkic said. “I personally feel like the brother needed help. I’m glad he didn’t try to choke me.”
This comment was forwarded to Green.
“I think we all need help,” Green said. “I don’t think any of us are too perfect. So, respect. I would tell him the same thing I told you. I apologize to him. I didn’t mean to hit him.”
Curry has spoken about the new year being a turning point for these Warriors, citing the need for them to resolve their issues and generate momentum before the calendar turns. They have nine more games in December against these opponents: Clippers, Nets, Blazers, Celtics, Wizards, Blazers, Nuggets, Heat, Mavericks.
The Warriors need to win a handful of these to stabilize a shaky situation. The league is back in the process of deciding how many (will it even be?) of those games Green will be eligible to play.
“I didn’t intend to put the team in a bad situation,” Green said. “I had the intention of getting a foul and made contact with him. As for Steve: Of course I have to be there for us to win. I understand that. That's why I haven't argued with referees since my return and haven't made friends with any players since my return. Because I understand that. Unfortunately, bad luck. I tried to make a foul and made contact with him. But they’re not the same things.”
With or without Green, Kerr faces some bigger questions about the Warriors' evolving rotation. Since returning from a recent finger injury, Wiggins has put together three of his worst games, making 8 of 30 shots and 11 turnovers against the Blazers, Thunder and Suns.
At the end of the second quarter against the Suns, Kerr finally made a decision. Wiggins missed a layup and dribbled it out of bounds himself shortly after entering, presumably ending the first half. Jonathan Kuminga had played well behind Wiggins. So with more than four minutes left in halftime, Kerr pulled Wiggins and put Kuminga in the lineup to start the third quarter. Kuminga played 29 minutes. Wiggins played a season-low 15 minutes. He didn't finish the game.
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“I still feel good,” Wiggins said. “I just have to do more. I didn't take any recordings. But I feel like I stepped up defensively and smashed the glass.”
Kerr also replaced Looney with Brandin Podziemski to open the third quarter and leaned smaller. Looney only played 11 minutes. He was minus-13. Podziemski was excellent, finishing the game with 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. He changed the game with a series of exciting plays, including an offensive rebound after a free throw that led to a 3 and a tackle on Devin Booker that gave Booker his fourth foul early in the third quarter.
But Kerr's most seismic rotation choice on Tuesday night in Phoenix was moving Klay Thompson late in the game. Thompson missed eight of his 10 shots and seven of his eight three-pointers, while Chris Paul (15 points, 11 assists) and Moses Moody (12 points, four rebounds) emerged as more productive backcourt options. Kerr finished with Curry, Paul, Podziemski, Kuminga and Dario Sarić.
“I just felt like I had to go against the guys that played the best tonight,” Kerr said. “I tried very patiently to organize everyone and give the boys freedom and space. But tonight it didn’t feel like a night where you had to have a lot of patience.”
As Green later pointed out, this was the first time Thompson had been forced to make such a sacrifice. When he was healthy throughout those dynasty years, Thompson always started and closed. This was the first time he was on the bench in crunch time.
Thompson didn't love it. During the timeout, he turned around in frustration after learning of the decision, yelled a few times toward the crowd and slammed what looked like a cup stand on the floor behind the bench. At some point during the timeout, Curry came to him to calm him down. Thompson stewed for most of the fourth quarter and had this exchange with reporters after the game.
One of the stories of the evening is that they didn't close.
“Yes,” Thompson said. “It's pretty strange. Pretty strange.”
How did you feel about this?
“I don’t know, man,” Thompson said. “I don’t really have any feelings about it.
Was it frustrating?
“Of course it frustrates me,” Thompson said. “Do you think I'll just relax?” I'm a damn ambitious man. At the end of the day, I am one of the most competitive people to wear this uniform. I can say that with confidence too. But whatever. I don't think I brought it with me tonight. I deserve it.”
Have you been given an explanation at the moment?
“No,” Thompson said. “No. No. No. No. Whatever. I deserve to be on the bench tonight. I played like crap.”
People on the bench were visibly upset.
“If you’ve ever played basketball, you know what you’re capable of,” Thompson said. “You always want to be out there and competing. These are just facts. Whatever. It happens. I deserved to be benched. I played like crap. After twenty games I haven't found a good rhythm. But give credit to our bank. They played great. Young people are stepping up.”
What do you think about some of the rotation decisions Steve is making these days?
“I trust Steve,” Thompson said. “I trust Steve now and always will.”
Curry said he expects Thompson will be upset during crunch time and reiterated that they are depending on everyone moving forward. But it's clear that a breaking point has finally been reached and Kerr is now more willing to give the green light to the more uncomfortable rotation decisions, regardless of the personal impact.
“I don’t think Klay ever struggled with it,” Green said. “The first time you deal with it is different. Your Reaction: You never know how you will react to something like this until you go through it. This is foreign territory for Klay. I don’t think anyone is mad, just upset about it.”
“These are tough nights,” Kerr said. “But this is the NBA.
“It's a really difficult league. It's a dream job, but also incredibly difficult. You get booed, benched, traded, injured, cut. It is not easy. Every season is full of ups and downs, moments when you really struggle as an individual. We are all human. Every player goes through a lot.”
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(Photo by Klay Thompson: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)