The Los Angeles Clippers lost the game against the Golden State Warriors by a pretty concerning margin despite their star Russell Westbrook being given a vast space just beyond the arc on Thursday at Chase Center.
The host team appeared in the game without superstar Stephen Curry, yet they clinched the game with a 115-91 scoreline, stretching the victory margin to a four-game winning streak. During the game, the Warriors’ power forward, Draymond Green, gave some leeway to the visiting team’s new recruit shooting guard.
No matter how odd it might seem to us, it was actually the reigning champions’ defensive scheme all along when it came to checking veteran SG.
What are the Warriors’ defensive tactics against Russell Westbrook?
The warriors of PF Green took it as his own responsibility to keep the 34-year-old Clippers from scoring points. However, at first glance, it appeared green wasn’t defending at all, giving decent space to shoot three-pointers multiple times.
Dray guarding Russ 👀 pic.twitter.com/mpeKmmzeGl
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 3, 2023
However, the four-time NBA champion used the inside of his head rather than go on charging the 2017 MVP. “The gameplan worked for us tonight. We got Russ to miss some shots,” Draymond said in the postgame. “I think when you have a gameplan like that—I know everyone will always judge Russ’ jumpshot—but what that does to you mentally is tough.”
“It’ll make you think for sure, because you’re open every play. You’re taught in basketball, ‘You’re open, take the shot,’” he continued. “But if you’re open every play, you kind of start questioning yourself. So I thought we did a good job executing.”
Well, when it comes to defending the nine-time NBA all-star, giving that much open space might not have been thoughtful. However, the star has weaknesses in the three-point line, scoring only 29.5% of his attempts throughout this season.
As the saying goes, ‘fortune favors the brave,’ the warriors demonstrated a fine display of mind games with calculated risk.
What’s your take on Draymond Green’s performance against Russell Westbrook? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
