Warriors’ Green Shines as Substitute in Playoff Victory over Kings

This article is transferred from: Beijing Youth Daily

Warriors beat Kings 126-125

Green Gan is better off as a substitute

On the morning of the 24th, Beijing time, the Warriors narrowly beat the Kings 126-125 at home, so they tied the big score in the first round of the playoffs to 2-2. In this game, Green, who had started consecutively before, became a substitute. This was his initiative to propose to coach Cole. Unexpectedly, such a change produced a good effect. Green played 30 minutes off the bench, hit 3 of 14 shots, scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and sent 7 assists. He is also the first player in the history of the Warriors to come off the bench in the playoffs and get 10+10+5.

Green has come off the bench only twice since Steve Kerr was hired as Warriors head coach during the 2014-2015 season. Green has made 128 consecutive starts in the playoffs, but in the third game of the playoffs between the Warriors and the Kings, Green was suspended by the league for an additional game and could not play. However, the Warriors defeated the Kings in that game, and it was precisely because of this that Green thought he could come off the bench.

Green said: “I firmly believe that if there is no problem with one thing, don’t change it. I think my coming off the bench is good for the team.” So Green took the initiative to communicate with coach Cole after the third game, Hope that the fourth game will start from the bench.

In fact, Green started off the bench, which is good for himself and the Warriors. On the one hand, Green as a substitute can gradually find the feeling of the game, which is a gradual process. Morant, who was like the Grizzlies before, also played from the bench after a few games of suspension. On the other hand, the Warriors do not want to break the previous winning mode. The Warriors also hope to use Green and Rooney separately. The team likes their sense of space in the third game.

The Warriors took the initiative to change formation and achieved good results. They also defended the home court and tenaciously tied the big score to 2-2, which also enhanced the Warriors’ confidence. “We know we have to win a game on the road to get out of this series, probably next game,” Curry said.

Text/Photo courtesy of our reporter Song Xiang/Visual China