Draymond Green hits back at Charles Barkley for suggesting he passes up open shots
Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors were looking to win back-to-back games without Steph Curry when they took on the New York Knicks. Before the game, NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley asked Green if he would look to be aggressive versus the Knicks.
Barkley noted before posing the question that the Warriors forward had been passing up open shots and sometimes even refused to look at the rim. Here’s “Dray’s” response to Barkley:
“If you actually spend some time watching the game, you saw last game, I came out starting 3-3 from three and I shot 15 shots last game. So, Imma need you to pay a little more attention, big dog.”
"Imma need you to pay a little more attention, big dog." 💀
Draymond claps back at Chuck questioning his shot selection https://t.co/6F7JL9Eax8
Draymond Green was right. In the Warriors’ 126-110 drubbing of the Toronto Raptors, he finished with 17 points on 15 shots. The former Defensive Player of the Year winner also took six three-point shots, making half of them.
Green’s performance was crucial in the Bay Area team’s first win of the season without their best player.
Charles Barkley’s point, however, was proven during the Knicks-Warriors game. Draymond Green finished with just seven points on five field goal attempts and also made 1-3 three-point shots.
The four-time NBA champ involved his teammates more in the match against the Knicks. He finished with a game-high six assists but also passed up on a few wide-open shots that New York dared him to shoot.
Draymond Green may need to do more on offense while Steph Curry’s injured
Steve Kerr was positive after the extent of Steph Curry’s injury was known that the Golden State Warriors will still be able to beat anybody. It surely didn’t feel that way against the New York Knicks as Kerr knew the Warriors could have competed better.
Curry is expected to miss at least one month due to a shoulder injury. Without him, it has been Jordan Poole who has been carrying the scoring burden for the Warriors. Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman have been giving it their all in practice, but they haven’t consistently supported the veteran core.
Draymond Green may have to push his game to contribute better on offense. He can’t simply be just the facilitator while the young guns continue to struggle while Klay Thompson is also having an up-and-down season.
The Golden State Warriors don’t have the luxury of the veterans they had in past championship teams. Everybody will have to pull their weight, including Green on the offensive end.
Seriously, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green should thank Stephen Curry for their paychecks https://t.co/gUegt8iDMv
The four-time champ may have to look more for his shots until Steph Curry returns. His 15 field-goal attempts versus the Toronto Raptors was his season-high. Before that, the most he has attempted is 10, which happened just four times this season.
Draymond Green averaged more than 10 field goal attempts in a season once in his career. He did it back in 2015-16 on a team that had Steph Curry, pre-injury Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes. Green may have to replicate that aggressiveness to keep the Warriors afloat without Curry.