Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors quit on a play Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder after not being passed the ball.
The four-time NBA champion turned his back on one of the Warriors’ final offensive possessions of the first half against the Thunder, when his teammate Jordan Poole refused to dish him the basketball. Green is seen jumping up and down WIDE OPEN near the free throw line before giving up on the play.
Poole passed the basketball to Klay Thompson, who then turned the basketball over to an OKC defender after Thompson’s pass went behind Green, who had his back turned.
Here’s that obvious moment of exasperation from Draymond Green near the end of the first half in OKC. Flashes open for a pass from Jordan Poole, doesn’t get it, waves in annoyance, walks away from the action. pic.twitter.com/a9dP5IvJZs
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 8, 2023
I don’t blame Poole for not passing the rock to Green. If somebody who is supposed to be my “teammate” clocked me in the face as Green did to Poole before the season started, I would pass the ball to everyone BUT him when I have it. What Green did to Poole was despicable and exceeds basketball.
That said, it is certainly possible that Poole just didn’t see Green, but it looked like he just didn’t want to facilitate a pass to him. Whether it was an honest sign of miscommunication or not, the Warriors seem to not have bulletproof team chemistry like they used to, and I believe it stems from Green punching Poole during the pre-season.
The reigning NBA champs are currently 34-32 this season with only 16 games left to play in the regular season. They’re just a 1.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves from being in the play-in tournament, according to ESPN. For the Warriors to be only two games above .500 right now is very uncharacteristic of them. By this point of the NBA season, the Warriors are usually dominating their their opponents by double-digits. (RELATED: New York Knicks’ Josh Hart Scores Points With Fans After Refusing To Blame Fatigue For Winning Streak Being Snapped)
This play in a nutshell shows that the Warriors team chemistry is worse than it’s been in YEARS.
The Warriors will have to choose between keeping Green or Poole over the offseason and I’m sure the Warriors would cut Green and keep Poole. It may be the only way to fix their broken team chemistry. The Warriors’ nine-point loss in Oklahoma City on Tuesday dropped their record on the road this season to 7-25, according to ESPN. It’s one of the worst road records in all of basketball.
The Warriors look to be out of sync this season, but as long as they have Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in their back court, I would never count them out in a seven-game playoff series.
Nevertheless, this looks like one of the most dysfunctional Warriors’ squads since Steve Kerr became the head coach of the team in 2014. If they’re quick to lose in the playoffs, major changes will be needed to make.
