Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Warriors scuffle proves they need an aggressive Draymond Green

By Adam Taylor | Last updated 3/21/24

On Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors overcame a tough test against the Memphis Grizzlies. Yet it wasn't until a tussle in the second quarter that Steve Kerr's team came to life. As you would expect, Draymond Green was in the thick of the scuffle, earning himself a technical foul.

In his postgame news conference, Green admitted that his altercation with Desmond Bane seemed to fuel his teammates.

“I got grabbed and snatched my arm away and got a tech," Green said. "... It kind of woke our team up. We got going from there and never looked back, so shout out to them. Maybe they were trying to get me thrown out, but it worked against them."

Draymond says the second-quarter scuffle "kind of woke [the Warriors] up." pic.twitter.com/8Rv2iLNsg4
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 21, 2024

Since returning from his indefinite suspension, Green has been slightly more restrained on the court. He's still an agitator but has done a better job of not overreacting when retaliating. However, the combative version of Green helped the Warriors win four championships. That player puts other teams on edge and fires up his teammates.

Green is still learning to balance doing too much and being an emotional sparkplug for his team. Yet, watching the Warriors rally around their veteran forward after his technical foul was a telling sign that this is the version of Green they need.

Kerr needs to find a way of bottling the energy the Warriors displayed. They've struggled for consistency all season. They can't rely on Green getting into trouble every night for them to elevate their performances. His actions need to be a supplement, not an accelerant.

The Warriors currently sit 10th in the Western Conference, with a three-game cushion over the Houston Rockets. They must continue stacking wins to qualify for the play-in tournament. As such, Green may need to continue operating as an emotional firework. The hard part will be finding the right balance, as we saw earlier this season.

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