After Sunday night’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors were not happy.

HIGHLIGHTS

 Draymond Green has expressed concerns about the Warriors’ poor habits and lack of communication.
 The Warriors have become too reliant on Stephen Curry, which will hurt them in the long run.
 The Houston Rockets are a threat to Golden State, having won 8 straight games and close to claiming the final play-in spot.

The Golden State Warriors have established a rhetoric this season of squandering leads, resulting in their less-than-ideal record. A team that has established absolute dominance over the past decade, and one not far removed from their 2022 championship, is not used to this level of play.

Perhaps no other Warrior has been more vocal of the situation and the way they feel about it than Draymond Green. It can be argued that no other Warrior has been more vocal and brash in general than Green. And Sunday night’s loss at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves cemented that idea.

Golden State dropped the game versus the Timberwolves by a score of 114-110, after having a 12-point lead in the first half which was blown late in the game.

Stephen Curry’s 31 points and Green’s all-around performance of eight rebounds, three assists, 12 points, and a steal was not enough to combat the six Timberwolves who finished with double-digit points. The Warriors are winless against Minnesota in the season series.

Return for Green

This game was significant as it reunited two former foes

The game marked Green’s return to the same court as Rudy Gobert for the first time since an incident four months ago, which saw Green put Gobert in a headlock, resulting in a five-game suspension.

“We keep losing, that’s not encouraging. It sucks. When you have to win, and you don’t, it sucks. In order to win, you have to build good habits, so I don’t think we have good habits. Until you play with great habits, you lose.” —Draymond Green after the game

Green was met with a cacophony of boos from the Minnesota crowd each time he touched the ball. But despite that, no issues arose as he put up 12 points in his team’s loss. After the game, Green was extremely vocal about the Warriors’ current situation and was not afraid to call out his own team.

“We lose a lot of games that we should win. In this league, you have to win games you’re supposed to win and still a few that you’re not supposed to win. But if you lose the ones you’re supposed to win, you’re in for a long year…We’re a very quiet team. You have issues on defense when you have bad communication.” —Draymond Green on his team’s issues

Green claimed that his team is ‘very quiet’ and features bad communication, displaying little fear of putting his squad on blast. He also claimed that the Warriors were “supposed to” win that game, but the reality remains that the Timberwolves are currently a better squad than the Warriors at the present moment, even without superstar Karl-Anthony Towns.

Reliance on Curry

The Warriors believe the team has become too reliant on Stephen Curry

The Warriors’ lead in Sunday night’s game versus Minnesota was squandered in the fourth quarter, which Stephen Curry sat out most of in order to rest. Coach Steve Kerr therefore believes the team has become too reliant on Curry to carry the team, a method which will no longer work come playoffs.

“We’ve put the burden of this franchise on [Curry’s] shoulders for 15 years. If you want to say that him playing 30 minutes instead of 32 is a difference in a win and a loss, I totally disagree with that.” —Steve Kerr on the team relying on Curry

The problems that currently riddle Golden State are ones hard to fix and root out. This is reflected in the Warriors’ recent play, where they are 4-6 in their last ten games. It is an issue also reflected in the current standings, which Green did not acknowledge, but Stephen Curry did.

“The situation will define itself pretty clearly. It is in real time. Every game matters. We’re inching closer to the other end of the standings. Nobody’s gonna wave the white flag. If that means playing more minutes, I’ll be ready to do that.” —Stephen Curry after the game

Surging Rockets

The Houston Rockets are right on Golden State’s tail

The Warriors do find themselves in a precarious position, currently sitting just two games over .500 at 36-34. That is only good enough for 10th in the Western Conference, which would put them in position for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

But that position is in danger as the red-hot Houston Rockets continue to win games, despite the absence of young star Alperen Sengun. He suffered a season-ending injury on March 10, and the fear was that the Rockets’ season would sink with Sengun’s injury.

But thanks to efforts by the surrounding pieces — most notably Jalen Green — Houston has actually soared over the past two weeks. They have won their last eight straight games, having not lost since Sengun went down. They are 10-1 in March, and this has allowed them to narrow the gap between them and the Warriors.

“I don’t give a damn about the Rockets.” —Draymond Green on the Rockets’ recent surge

The Rockets sit only one game behind the Warriors for 10th place in the West. At this current pace, they are expected to surpass Golden State to take the final Play-In spot. Green also acknowledged this, admitting he is not concerned with Houston at all. But regardless of what happens, the final stretch of the season is bound to be interesting.