“Took a Few Steps Backward”: Ex-Celtics Star Points Out a Huge Weakness in Golden State Warriors

Former Boston Celtics stars Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins sat down with Rachel Nichols on ESPN’s The Jump. In the interview, they analyzed the Golden State Warriors’ strengths and weaknesses for the next season.

The Warriors have been part of the NBA finals in each of the last five seasons. Roster movements, combined with injuries prior to the 2019/20 season, meant that the Warriors suddenly looked a much weaker side. As injuries continued to plague them, the Warriors had a dismal season. Consequently, the NBA table showed the Warriors as the team with the worst record when the coronavirus pandemic brought the league to a halt.

But in the new season, things certainly look much better for them. When fully fit, their core team will look great, with the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. They also recently added Andrew Wiggins to their roster, who would have a significant role to play.

Talking about the Warriors’ strengths on The Jump, Pierce and Perkins raised these two points. To add to it, host Nichols brought up the point that the Warriors will have a high pick in the upcoming draft.

Perkins felt that Draymond Green was the weakness for Golden State Warriors

Talking about the team’s drawbacks, Pierce felt that the Dubs lacked depth in their squad. Perkins, meanwhile, criticized their star man Draymond Green and said his under-par performances is a weakness for the Warriors.

“Draymond disappointed me this season,” Perkins said. “I thought with the injury to Klay (Thompson) and the injury to Steph (Curry) he was gonna elevate his game offensively and shock the world. With him getting $100 million in the contract extension, I thought Draymond was gonna come out and prove a point.

“Also with them losing Kevin Durant, I thought we would see ‘Defensive Player of the Year Draymond,’ ‘the 14-9-8 Draymond’ that we’ve seen a few years ago. But he took a few steps backward. My expectations for Draymond Green were a little bit higher, and he didn’t achieve it.”