Draymond Green Reunites With Warriors Teammates After Serving 12-Game Suspension

Draymond Green‘s tumultuous 2023-2024 season has just taken a turn for the better. After facing an “indefinite suspension” for a punch on Suns’ Jusuf Nurkić, the 4x champ is finally back in the Warriors side, and will most likely see some minutes in their matchup with the Toronto Raptors tonight. Both Green and the Dubs had a tough start to the season, but the side seems to have clawed back their form. Currently sitting at 17-18, they’ll hope to win against a struggling Raptors side at home to go back to a .500 record.

While Steph Curry has been his usual All-Star self and has kept their offense ticking, Green’s absence has massively impacted their underperforming defense.

Draymond Green’s return boosts Dub’s squad

Steve Kerr confirmed Draymond’s presence in his pre-game press conference at the Chase Center when he said “he’s here, he looks good, he’s excited to be here”. He continued by saying that Green is working with their coaches to get back into the groove of his usual game (bar the flagrant fouls), and is getting shots in.

After his third ejection this season, Draymond Green’s behavior had become the topic of intense scrutiny in the league. Adam Silver and other league officials felt that an indefinite suspension was the best way forward for all parties involved. They reasoned that Green needed some time away from the continuous scrutiny that being a big name in the league came with, and that it would help him introspect and improve on his uncharacteristic behavior so far.

Two of Green’s three ejections this season have come under extreme circumstances and have resulted in suspensions. The first, a chokehold on the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert, resulted in a 5-game suspension. The second was the punch to Nurkic’s face and was initially classed as an “indefinite” suspension. After league officials assessed his rehabilitation, they gave him the all-clear to return to the side on the 6th of January.

But with Green’s imminent return, how will the Warriors side be affected?

Read More: $100M Rich Draymond Green Crosses Depressing $4,000,000 Mark After Serving 12 Game Suspension

Green solves so many of the Dubs’ issues

The Dubs have the 18th-best defense in the league this season. That isn’t promising, but what makes it worse is the fact that they’re giving up close to 115.7 points every 100 possessions. In comparison, during their title-winning season in 2021-2022, they had the third-best defense in the league, allowing an average of 106.6 points per 100 possessions. The biggest difference? Draymond Green. This season he has missed 17 games through suspension alone, out of the 35 that they have played. As the pioneer of the small ball offense system, Steve Kerr’s system always relied on Green for the defensive duties, but it wasn’t so obvious before.

With him returning to the side, their defense gets a huge boost. And of course, so will their offense. Green Curry and Thompson have proven that they can work well together, having won 4 titles. The Dubs’ reliance on Green will be huge in the coming weeks, and they’ll hope he can keep himself out of trouble. If they can go into the All-Star weekend in February with a positive record, they’ll be confident of securing a playoff spot despite their poor start to the season.

How do you think Draymond will perform on his return to this side?

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