Warriors Availability Report: Will Draymond Green Play Tonight in the In-Season Tournament?vs?Spurs

The Golden State Warriors are all set to take on the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. And the stakes are very high for them as this is their last home game of the group play and the atmosphere will be electric at the Chase Center. So, as they are hosting the Spurs, they already have a home advantage. And by securing a victory today, they will be enhancing their chances of getting one step closer to the title of the In-Season Tournament.

However, there is some doubt regarding his availability for this game. Can the Warriors survive that setback and win against a struggling Spurs squad looking to put an end to their 10-game losing streak?

Is Green available for the showdown against the Spurs?

The Warriors have reached a crossroads with a record of 1 loss and 1 win in the group stage. Despite the comeback of one-half of the Splash Brothers Klay Thompson, their problems started after they suffered a recent loss against the Suns. Thompson is establishing himself as a scoring powerhouse, with back-to-back season-high performances. However, Stephen Curry’s absence from the previous matchup brings an intriguing aspect to the Warriors’ attacking dynamics.

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As the absence of Curry puts a dent in the Warriors’ attack, the absence of Draymond Green makes the Warriors’ defense very weak. In the matchup against the Spurs, the Warriors’ defensive cornerstone will be notably absent due to his league ban. Green’s absence creates a big vacuum to the Warriors frontcourt, as his offensive qualities and playmaking ability are crucial to the team’s success. In Green’s absence, the squad will be forced to depend on other important contributors to step up defensively and aid ball movement.

The offensive game of the Dubs has comparatively been strong due to the offensive prowess of Klay Thompson. They are currently averaging 113.9 points per game. But as Green has not been available for a few matches, it has made a dent in the team’s defense. They have allowed 114.1 points per game due to which the question arises of whether they will be able to limit the Spurs’ attack. However, why is Green banned and how many more games will he be out of action?

Why is Draymond Green out of action?

The NBA has suspended Draymond Green for his violent incident with Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves. They emphasized Green’s “unsportsmanlike and dangerous” actions by giving one of the harshest sentences in recent history. The incident occurred after Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got into a physical altercation. However, things heated up after Gobert came in defense of his teammate and tried to separate the two by grabbing Thompson. Now looking at his teammate being grabbed by their opponent, Green completely lost his cool.

In order to defend his teammate, Green caught Gobert and held him in a chokehold. Due to that, he was not only suspended for five games, but he also lost $769,704 in compensation. As a punishment for this violent behavior, he has been banned by the NBA for 5 games. The NBA confirmed Green’s sentence by emphasizing his history of disrespectful behavior. So, the Warriors will now have to figure out how to get through this difficult period without their defensive cornerstone.

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