The Golden State Warriors are back in the groove. Win number eleven? Done and dusted. The Atlanta Hawks barely put up a fight at the Chase Center on Wednesday. Draymond Green was all grit and hustle, while Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins put on a show that had the Bay Area crowd buzzing. But not everything was golden. Brandin Podziemski’s early exit and shooting struggles cast a shadow on an otherwise electric night.

The Dubs sophomore is yet to get the ground running this season. Brandin Podziemski reportedly became untouchable during the mammoth trade talks for the likes of Lauri Markkanen and Paul George in the offseason. However, he is struggling heavily, with an average of 7.5 points per game on a 37/21/60 shooting split through 13 games. To make things worse, his teammate hit him in the face (by mistake!), forcing him to exit the game against the Hawks on Wednesday.

Draymond Green didn’t hold back when it came to pinpointing the cause of Brandin Podziemski’s shooting struggles—and it wasn’t Podz himself. Instead, the Warriors’ veteran threw the blame back at the media and fans, quipping, “What he’s trying to work through is y’all fault.” But, of course, the external pressure isn’t the only issue with Draymond Green.

He didn’t mince words when it came to Podz’s self-imposed pressure. The Warriors‘ veteran admitted he has heard the rookie beating himself up over missed shots and bad plays. The 34YO forward shared, “He kind of puts this pressure on himself of what he needs to be and every shot means so much. Man, it’s a soft Wednesday in November. That shot doesn’t mean that much. But he carries that weight. And I think anyone who carries that amount of weight in anything, affects you negatively. And I hate that for him.”

His advice? “Shut up, man.” Not out of frustration, but out of care. Green believes Podziemski’s overthinking is doing more harm than good. “None of us are thinking that way,” he said, urging the young guard to let go of the guilt. For Draymond, the message is simple: stop the internal dialogue and just play the game.

With his signature candidness, Green unpacked the pressures of sky-high expectations, explaining, “It’s hard having a great rookie season and then coming back and having a second year as good or better. It’s tough. That’s why you’ve always heard of a sophomore slump.” Classic Draymond, keeping it real while lightening the load for his rookie teammate!

DrayMagic has been through such experiences. So, he knows what kind of pressure promising newbies carry on their shoulders. It’s only natural for the likes of Brandin Podziemski to be too hard themselves, even over minor slips. However, the Dubs Coach Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry, and Green himself are optimistic and confident about the talent Podz can bring to the floor. But before that, STOP OVERTHINKING!

“He’ll learn”: Draymond Green puts his faith in Podziemski’s talent as a point guard

In Steph Curry’s absence, Brandin Podziemski takes the front line as the point guard on the team. Simply put, Steve Kerr entrusts the duties of the Chef to the sophomore who was brilliant in his rookie season in 2023. However, it looks like performance pressure is taking over Podz. Thus, Draymond Green just wants the youngster to ease up and have faith in himself.

“If the one thing that you’re struggling with is your shot, but you’re doing five or six other things great, I think that will outweigh your shot,” Green commented during the presser. He added, “He should appreciate that and lean into that. If he leans into that, the shots will fall. But if he keeps putting that amount of pressure on himself and thinking, ‘Oh, I’m letting you down.’ I used to think that way.” As a rookie in 2012, Draymond Green had similar thoughts about his deliverance in a game. But with time, things do fall into place. And look, he’s a 4x NBA Champ now!

Green concluded his thoughts with some words of wisdom. He said, “Man, who cares? If I make it great, if I miss it, oh, well, I’m going to shoot the next one. And it’s hard to get there. I’ve done a lot of work to try to get my mentality there. And he’s young, so he’ll learn that as he goes. But we have the utmost belief in him, and we need him to have that same belief in himself.”

Brandin Podziemski has the talent and support to shine. And Draymond Green’s tough love shows the team’s belief in him. The message is clear: relax, trust the process, and let the game come naturally. Podz will find his rhythm—he just needs time.