Draymond Green made a blunt confession last night. The Golden State Warriors succumbed to a tough 124-119 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers due to some brutal missed shots down the stretch. This loss consequently destined them to the seventh seed and, ultimately, a play-in game with the Memphis Grizzlies they dearly would have wished to avoid.
Exactly how costly these missed shots will prove depends on how they fare in the play-in and beyond. This is a veteran team logging extra games they could have done without.
Draymond Green Makes a Blunt Confession After Missed Shot
“I smoked a layup,” Green stated bluntly in last night’s postgame. You’d have to look far and wide to find an easier shot to miss.
With 30 seconds left, Stephen Curry, at the top of the key, made the right read to pass out of a double team, finding Gary Payton, standing open in the painted area. He then fed Green underneath for a wide-open layup under the basket. Bewilderingly, Green missed.
For some reason, Green didn’t go strong to the hoop; instead, he backed his body weight into contact, which led to him missing the shot. Was he looking to force contact for a foul? Was he looking to establish more space by backing the paint defender away? It’s debatable. Either way, it was a mistake that cost his team dearly.
“Was it the shot that you guys wanted?” a reporter asked about Buddy Hield’s missed shot? “Yes. That was the play that was drawn up, we got the look, [Buddy] just missed it,” Green said.
From the inbounds, down by three points with one shot to save the game, coach Steve Kerr drew up a nice play to get a shooter open to tie the game. However, that shooter was not the greatest shooter of all time, Stephen Curry. Instead, it was Hield. The result did not go as planned. Hield shot wildly far left of the basket, and that was that. Play-in basketball for Golden State.
Hield is a very good shooter in his own right. With a career 3-point mark of just a touch under 40%, he has made over 2,100 3s in his career to date.
However, with the season on the line, the wiser play may have been to get the ball in the hands of the generational Curry, who revolutionized basketball — no need to get too cute. However, in fairness, the play worked exactly as it was drawn up, according to Green. Hield just missed the open shot.
Nevertheless, Kerr did the only thing he could do, backing the beleaguered Hield to make the next shot when called upon. “I’m going to keep playing him. I’m going to keep trusting him.” Confidence is key and the right way to go about it. Kerr is one of the most successful and respected coaches in the league. Warriors fans must hope Hield repays Kerr’s admirable faith in him.
Steve Kerr on the slumping Buddy Hield: “I trust him. I put him in the last play because I believe he’ll make the next shot…I’m gonna keep playing him. I’m gonna keep trusting him.” pic.twitter.com/crDkD3yONc
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 14, 2025
Nevertheless, when asked about potential fatigue, Green shut it down. “We’ll be fine. We’re not senior citizens; we’re high-level basketball players.” The Warriors’ sole focus is now on making the playoffs.