Warriors: Kerr on Draymond Green’s Defensive Player of the Year case; Curry returns, but Payton out

SAN FRANCISCO – Earlier in the week, Draymond Green told reporters that he deserved the Defensive Player of the Year award after a masterful performance in a win over the Bucks. On Thursday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr agreed with his veteran forward.

“I have a top two, and that’s Scottie Pippen and Draymond,” Kerr said when asked to name the best defenders he’s ever seen.

Kerr called Green “the best defender in the league,” and said he believed that Green should at least be a lock for the NBA’s all-defense first team.

Kerr also compared Green to another of the coach’s former Chicago Bulls teammates in Dennis Rodman, who dominated as an undersized power forward.

“You can see the parallels, the length, the physicality, and ultimately it’s up here, it’s the brain, and Dennis and Scottie were the two smartest defenders I’ve ever been around, and Draymond is amazing in that regard,” Kerr said.

Green is averaging 1.1 blocks and 1.4 steals per game, but Green believes his defensive impact goes far beyond the stat sheet.

“When you look at this award, it’s widely based off statistics,” Green said. “And those statistics don’t always tell the story. Some guys get the stats and get picked on. Some guys get the stats and can be a liability to their defense, they take too many chances and their defense breaks down. We don’t do that. Sometimes you get punished for it. But: championships, championship, championships.”

Green won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2016-17.

LINEUP CHALLENGES

Kerr will undertake a careful balancing act over the last few weeks of the regular season. 

The longtime coach will need to find a way to keep the 37-year-old Steph Curry fresh down the stretch, while also ensuring the team is in position to win enough to avoid the dreaded play-in tournament. 

Curry sat out Tuesday against Milwaukee to rest on the second night of a back-to-back after coach Steve Kerr said the future Hall of Famer was “exhausted” following Monday’s loss to Denver. 

Curry returned to the lineup against the Raptors on Thursday for the final game of a seven-game homestand.

The 37-year-old has dealt with back and ankle injuries this season, but the Warriors are limited in how many games they can have Curry rest. 

Golden State (40-29) is 2.5 games behind fifth-seeded Memphis and has a one-game advantage over the Clippers, who currently occupy the first play-in spot.  

“We can’t mess around and experiment,” Kerr said. “We’re going to play the lineups that are going to give us the best chance to win. But within that, we’re getting a lot of information.”

Fortunately for the Warriors, the team now has a player capable of keeping the team afloat when Curry is on the bench. 

Jimmy Butler’s ability to score and facilitate as the No. 1 option in non-Curry minutes was on full display against Milwaukee. He dropped a game-high 24 points and dished out 10 assists while taking over late. 

“I think there’s room for improvement, and it’s never easy to incorporate a guy midseason, especially a guy who is going to be such a focal point,” Kerr said. “But Jimmy has made that easier because of his IQ and his ability to make everybody better.”

INJURY NOTES

Gary Payton II will miss the Toronto game with left knee soreness, and Kerr said the team doesn’t expect him to miss more than Thursday’s game. 

“It doesn’t appear to be too bad,” Kerr said.

Payton played 17 minutes against Milwaukee on Tuesday, guarding Damian Lillard and scoring eight points, including two 3-pointers. 

Jonathan Kuminga has played at least 20 minutes in each of his last three games, and Kerr said there is no minutes restriction on the fourth-year forward coming off a severe right ankle injury. 

Kerr said Kuminga is also adjusting to a new, less ball-dominant role with Butler in tow.

“We were running things through him, and so he had the ball in his hands a lot and he was very successful, but now we have Jimmy Butler, and we’re going to put the ball in Jimmy’s hands,” Kerr said. “We talk, and he understands it’s about winning, and as long as he goes out and plays as hard as he can with energy when he’s out there, then good things are going to happen.”