Advertisement

Steve Kerr ejected and Draymond Green, Kevin Durant argue in a loss, but the Warriors are fine

kelly dwyer
Draymond Green has seen it all before. (Getty Images)
Draymond Green has seen it all before. (Getty Images)

Leave it to the Golden State Warriors to turn perhaps their most uproarious night of the season into something laughable and, if we’re all in this together, learnable. Aww.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Basketball contest now | Free NBA Yahoo Cup entry]

GSW coach Steve Kerr was ejected partway through the third quarter of his team’s eventual 109-106 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, a near-home defeat pitched in the sometimes-friendly confines of Sacramento’s home building. After a series of either-way calls went against the Warriors, followed by a Draymond Green technical foul, Kerr went troppo on his way off of the court on Saturday night:


Neither the Kings or Warriors exactly took off in Kerr’s absence, with the Warriors being helmed by lead assistant (and former Cavaliers, twice, and Lakers head coach) Mike Brown. The game went on to overtime, where Stephen Curry could not provide the heroics in the final moments:

After the contest, though, few could take their eyes off of Kerr’s ejection, which came after just a single technical foul.

[Read & React Newsletter: 5 great stories from the Yahoo Sports blogs in your inbox every morning!]

Draymond Green, who moved to fourth place on the NBA’s 2016-17 list with 10 technical fouls on the season with his third quarter contribution, was particularly chuffed at watching his coach and sometimes combatant go bonkers on referees Matt Boland (especially), Bill Spooner and Jacyn Goble:

We liked it too, Draymond. We were watching the game with the volume down.

Less chuffed was he during the fourth quarter and overtime, especially during a third quarter timeout (with Kerr already in the locker room), as Green and first-year Warriors teammate Kevin Durant got into on the visitor’s bench:

Look again:

Draymond Green, defensive mastermind, always wants to shoot. Not from 25 feet away, though, with just ticks left on a shot clock that has already turned red. Though Dray raised his three-point average to just under 32 percent on the season with a 3-8 night (including that miss) from long range against Sacto, this is less than ideal.

And this happens all the time. Draymond Green is right to stay on his new teammate for declining shots, however rarely Durant does it. Not every game will come against the Sacramento Kings. Not every game will be played in February, on a random Saturday night:

Green, clearly, didn’t think any of this was much of a big deal:

[Follow Ball Don’t Lie on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

It was a rough night overall for Green, who (on the same day that it was announced that Minnesota swingman Zach LaVine would miss the season after a knee “contusion” turned into an ACL tear) had to leave the game with that same contusion …

… before returning to action for a 16-point, eight-rebound, six-assist, six-turnover night. He added two steals and two blocks.

Durant, however, had a night to forget.

The MVP candidate managed five blocks and even played respectable defense on Sacramento big man DeMarcus Cousins (32 points on 30 shots, 12 rebounds, nine assists, seven turnovers in the win), but he missed eight of 10 looks from the field and turned in perhaps the worst night of his 51-game Warriors career.

Green, as he often does, had the best reaction to the Saturday Night Setback. From Anthony Slater at the Oklahoman:

“We definitely have to have him take more shots for sure,” Green said. “But how many times has that happened this season where he only took 10 shots? But tonight our offense wasn’t our offense. I’m not worried about it.”

Steve Kerr? Let’s try not to curse this time:

“Kevin looked tired tonight,” Kerr said. “I think he was out of gas. He’s been so incredible all year, played so efficient. He’s allowed to have one of those.”

This was only Golden State’s fifth game in 10 nights, but these nights add up. Just one of those nights, right Kevin? Kevin?

“I just got to be more aggressive, got to shoot more,” Durant said. “Trying to make the right play, sometimes just have to break it off and go score, be aggressive to make a play. Feel like I was just swinging it through, screening. I wasn’t in a basketball stance tonight on the offensive end. I should get to the rim a couple more times in transition. That’s on me. I’ll be more aggressive next game.”

The “next game” comes after three days off midseason, an NBA eternity this time of year, with the Warriors taking on the visiting Chicago Bulls on national TV this Wednesday.

Kerr, with a quarter plus overtime to stew in the new Sacramento visitors’ locker room, was ready to make amends by the time the press made their way into the scrum:

“We got what we deserved,” Kerr said. “Before I was tossed and after, that was one of the worst games we’ve played all season. I didn’t even recognize our team out there tonight. That was not us.”

“Twenty-two assists in an overtime game,” Kerr said.” We had 38 the other night. The ball was humming. Tonight it just stuck. It kept sticking over and over again.”

Draymond Green likes his coach’s ejection, though, and the coach is cool with the treatment he received. Kevin Durant knows he has to do better, and everyone involved seems to consider this just one game in 82.

A loss like this was so normal that next time we might even discuss the Sacramento Kings’ role in all of this.

– – – – – – –

Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!