Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green (23) speaks with NBA referee Bill Kennedy during the third quarter of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal playoffs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday, May 6, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
LOS ANGELES — Draymond Green doesn’t usually hold back. Even after a loss, he’ll take a deep dive into what went wrong and often detail his own mistakes in the game’s low points.
But Green was short, and muttered only a few words following the Warriors 127-97 drubbing by the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night. The game was lost in a brutal second quarter in which a Warriors’ 11-point lead flipped to an 11-point deficit by the next quarter.
The Lakers took 15 free throws in the second quarter.
“The game stopped,” Green said. “They on the free throw line every time.”
Asked if he was satisfied with how the game was officiated, Green said: “It is what it is. The game’s over now. Don’t matter if I’m satisfied.”
What does watching the Lakers go to the line continually do to the team mentally?
“It’s frustrating.”
Green’s answers might’ve been short, but hit right on what could determine this series.
The Lakers’ two wins came with a massive disparity in free throw attempts taken between teams. The Lakers took 37 free throws to the Warriors’ 17 on Saturday and 29 to the Warriors’ 6 in Game 1. The Lakers took 17 free throws to the Warriors’ 16 in Golden State’s Game 2 win.
Plenty of other factors contributed to the Warriors’ Game 3 loss. They turned the ball over 19 times, including nine in the costly second quarter. A 39.6 percent shooting clip from the field marked just the second time they’ve shot under 40 percent in these playoffs (the other was Game 6 against the Kings). The Big 3 of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Green finished minus-26, minus-23 and minus-27, respectively.
Poor shooting nights and turnover woes stem from the free throw game.
Green said problems cropped up when the game stopped — that’s because the Warriors can best succeed if the game keeps moving. The Lakers, in particular, have a spotty transition defense that the Warriors can feast on if they’re forcing turnovers and pick up the pace off misses — and even makes.
When the game stopped, the Warriors lost their flow. Under the playoff lights, they also lost their composure. Meltdowns were a common thread through the Warriors’ mediocre stretches in the regular season; Green would sometimes chide his team for lacking the mental toughness required to survive the target on their and conquer opposing teams’ comebacks.
At the worst time, the Warriors’ worst habits crept back in. And the Lakers have just the move to make that habit kick in.
All that time the Lakers spent at the free throw line not only added 28 points to their total score, but pushed Golden State into the mud. Frustrated, they collected three technical fouls and Moses Moody a Flagrant 1 foul, all in that second quarter.
“We lost our poise,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Got to be more poised than we were.”
Green was at the center of the foul drama. Crucial to the Warriors success is his ability to contain towering center Anthony Davis without fouling. Green held him to 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting and five free throws in their Game 2 win. But, similar to Game 1, Green played just 23 minutes in Game 3 as he racked up three fouls before the half. Three of Green’s total five personal fouls were blocks on Davis, including two that underwent a coach’s challenge.
Los Angeles challenged a called offensive foul that was overturned to a blocking foul and Kerr challenged a called blocking foul that was unsuccessful.
“You don’t really get an explanation these days,” Green said. “I won’t adapt, I will keep playing the same defense I’ve played for 11 years.”
The Warriors will need Green to play his style of defense in Game 4, the Lakers now up 2-1. No matter how the referees call it, he’s one of few defenders that can limit Davis. How he and the Warriors can toe the line and avoid a whistle, though, could determine everything.
Originally published at Shayna Rubin