On the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” the Warriors’ defensive ace explained what could make Golden State play so poorly on the road against the friendly confines of the Chase Center.
“Honestly, I think, and I’ve said it before, I think winning on the road takes an incredible amount of mental strength, and it’s not just one guy whose mental strength or two guys or a couple guys,” Green said. “It’s a collective mental strength as a team and honestly, it just seems like we haven’t made it as a team to be as big as we are at home.”
The Warriors’ difference at home and on the road is eye-opening.
Golden State’s 27-7 home record is fifth-best in the NBA, trailing only the Denver Nuggets (30-4), Memphis Grizzlies (26-5), Milwaukee Bucks (27-6) and Cleveland Cavaliers (28-7).
On the road, the Warriors’ 7-25 record is better than only the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets with 6-27 and the Detroit Pistons (7-26).
For context, the Spurs, Rockets and Pistons are all vying for the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and the opportunity to draft 7-foot-3 phenom Victor Wembanyama to kickstart their respective rebuilds.
“And as bad as we are on the road, it just doesn’t make sense,” Green continued. “It’s like fragility 101. So it’s weird man, it’s weird and it’s like every time you feel like you’re taking the next step, it’s like two steps back.”
The Warriors’ 25th road loss came against the Oklahoma City Thunder, where Steph Curry dropped 40 points in just his second game back from his lower leg injury.
Green noted that the Warriors need to beat the teams they’re “supposed” to beat and that it’s been “great” to have Curry back in the lineup, even if Golden State has to rework its rotations again.
“When you get that much power back, it takes time to kind of refill and kind of fill you through it,” the 32-year-old said. “When I say that, it’s not so sure it should have resulted in a loss, especially as well as he’s played in his return.”
Green believes the Warriors’ road woes have just been “unfortunate.”
“It’s very frustrating, frustrating to say the least in such a stacked Western Conference, logjam right where we stand, and like I said, you just really have to win the games you’re supposed to win, and honestly, we dropped the ball,” Green concluded.
RELATED: Poor road performances undermine Dubs’ late-season push
The Warriors are running out of time to right the ship and address their road woes.
Should Golden State not sort out its road woes, its chances to repeat as champions could be over before it really began.
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