The Golden State Warriors suffered a 140-88 loss against the Boston Celtics on Sunday — marking the fourth-worst defeat in Warriors franchise history.
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Warriors forward Draymond Green addressed the media after the game and explained that his team's defensive game plan — to give Celtics guard Jaylen Brown room to shoot — was put together at the last possible moment. Brown finished the game with 29 points in 22 minutes, including five 3-pointers made.
Draymond Green said the Warriors implemented the strategy to sag off Jaylen Brown “like 15 minutes before we left the locker room.”
“I thought it was fun to try. I was actually all for it.”
“It didn’t work. Oh well. We move on.” pic.twitter.com/SVuwRkCGCH
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 3, 2024
"We implemented our strategy like 15 minutes before we left the locker room," Green said. "So I don't think we necessarily put together a full defensive strategy."
Given that the Warriors were on the last leg of a four-game road trip, perhaps this lapse of preparedness can be excused. Then again, the 32-28 Warriors are in 10th place in the Western Conference and can't afford to waste games if they're to make the playoffs and give their core players another shot at winning an NBA championship.
Green didn't seem too upset about the loss, saying of the game plan, "But yeah, it didn't work. Oh well, we move on. ... I thought it was fun to try."
While deciding against defending Brown at the perimeter produced an efficient and stress-free night for the Celtics All-Star, he still didn't take too kindly to his opponents' game plan.
Jaylen Brown on the Warriors game:
“If you want to dare me to shoot, we can do that too. I thought it was a bit disrespectful.” pic.twitter.com/81Wao466uC
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) March 3, 2024
"Honestly, I was a bit surprised," Brown said postgame, when discussing the how much space the Warriors gave him to operate. "It took a little bit of adjusting. But, I think we took advantage of whatever that attempt was.
"If you want to dare me to shoot," Brown continued, "we can do that, too. I thought it was a bit disrespectful."
While the Warriors' game plan was put together at the last minute, coach Steve Kerr's postgame comments showed that there was some thinking behind it.
"You know, you try different things," Kerr said. "You have to pick your matchups. We wanted Draymond to be able to help on drives and make sure that we weren't giving up easy stuff in the paint."
So while this strategy clearly didn't work, at least Kerr could provide a somewhat logical explanation for it.
After spending the past week on the East Coast, the Warriors now return home to play the Bucks on Wednesday. Hopefully, they'll find some time to concoct a solid defensive strategy prior to that one.
