Hazel Renee cheers hubby Draymond Green's return to the court after latest suspension
Draymond Green returned to action for the Golden State Warriors in the Memphis Grizzlies' annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day home stand on Monday night.
It was his first game since his indefinitely suspension by the NBA for his flagrant foul on Jusuf Nurkic.
Although the ban was lifted earlier this month, Green said that he wanted to regain his conditioning before returning. Eventually, he decided to make a comeback in the nationally televised clash between the Warriors and the Grizzlies.
Green's wife, Hazel Renee, celebrated his return at their home back in San Francisco by taking a picture of him in action while watching the game on the Warriors' local broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area.
Sharing this on her Instagram story, Mrs. Green said:
"First game back since Dec. 12. Let's go [Draymond Green]."
Draymond Green says Warriors need to take pride after lackluster defense against depleted Grizzlies
Draymond Green's return was a huge boost for the Golden State Warriors defensively, thanks to his hustle and tenacity. However, the team seemed to be lax on defense on Monday night as the Grizzlies, who are playing with only Jaren Jackson Jr. as their main man, stunned them, 116-107.
For Green, it was a matter of pride, he said:
"As far as having pride, you just got to have pride in yourself as a man, and I'm gonna let my guy score. The closeout was too soft [and] our rotations were too slow, so it's just no pride like tough. Until every guy takes pride in themselves and wants to stop the guy in front of them, we'll suck," Green said after the game.
The Grizzlies finished in double figures led by Vince Williams Jr. with 24 points and GG Jackson with 23.
While the Warriors held the Grizzlies to 37.2% from the field, Golden State's defense was a bit too harsh, leading to several fouls, which gave Memphis 40 free throw attempts, making 32 of those. What also kept the Grizzlies moving was their three-point shooting, where they went 20-for-54 from 24 feet away.
Meanwhile, the Warriors only shot 9-for-10 from the charity stripe, marking the largest difference in free throw attempts this season. The team has now lost back-to-back games, but with a full second half of their schedule, they could still pull off something that would lift them to the postseason.