The end. The inevitability of it. It is a common experience that unites us all. We all experience an end in our lives. A lot. The end of a workday. The end of a relationship. The end of a basketball dynasty. There’s always an end.
While the arrival of the end is inevitable, the timing of that arrival is never given. It can take its sweet time arriving, or simply just happen in a matter of seconds. Sometimes the end comes on slowly. Sometimes it starts slowly before ending all at once.
The Golden State Warriors, down two games to none to an upstart, beam-lighting Sacramento Kings team that most of us assumed would roll over for the mighty Dub Nation, are not exactly facing The End heading into Thursday night's Game 3 showdown. But the Warriors very much do face a day of reckoning, one that could all but bury this dynasty for good and bring about that end we all know is coming.
Throughout this dynastic run, the Warriors have leaned heavily on The Brothers Splash, Steph and Klay, but a massive key to their success was the fiery heart of the team in Draymond Green. He was the true engine of this dynasty, and as a result, Warriors fans and the organization turned the other way on his negative transgressions.
The yelling at refs and the coaching staff. The technical fouls and ejections. Berating Kevin Durant off of the team. We accepted it so long as the positives Draymond brought to the court outweighed the negatives he brought on or off of it. For years, they did. Very much so. It made things easy for the Warriors. “That is just who Draymond is” was an easy and acceptable excuse.
Until it wasn’t.
Until Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole in the face before the season started, casting a shadow of darkness over everything the light of DubNation once touched. What was supposed to be an exciting and unexpected title defense soon resembled The Pridelands under the rule of Scar: dark, bleak, and completely unrecognizable. A slow start to the season seemed to confirm the darkness was stronger and rooted deeper than most would have wanted to admit.
The Warriors once again had a Draymond problem, and it felt like the negatives were finally outweighing the positives. It’s hard not to trace the frustrations of this season to The Punch. It has hung over every loss this season. Every road embarrassment. Every blown fourth-quarter lead.
But instead of addressing their Draymond Problem, the Warriors did what they always did: a slap on the wrist and offered up lots of “Draymond is Draymond” rationales. The status quo remained firmly in place.
Draymond could have always earned his way back into the good graces of fans whom he lost after The Punch. His ability to up his game in the wake of his transgressions is quite legendary. Perhaps one of the best games of his career was Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, which came in the aftermath of his most infamous suspension.
And he did his best this year too. He put together a vintage performance on defense this year, finishing fourth in the defensive player of the year voting. He was the same facilitator on offense he always was. He was a leader on the court. He was the Draymond whose positives outweighed the negatives.
But the pendulum always swings back.
Amid a playoff chase, the man who claimed that he decides when he gets technical fouls and would not accrue 16 of them this season, was baited into technical fouls by Dillon Brooks and accrued that 16th technical, triggering a suspension during a playoff chase that the Warriors needed him on the court for. The one-game absence did not matter though, and the Warriors were spared from the consequences of Draymond's actions. Again. A pattern that has emerged for the Warriors over the years.
Draymond's suspension from The Finals in 2016, and resulting loss, could have been a devastating setback for this organization. Instead, it became an opening to bring in Kevin Durant, which might not have happened had Draymond not been suspended, or had the Warriors won those finals.
And while Draymond's outburst on Durant played a role in his departure, even that feels less significant in the wake of a 4th title, won with Draymond and without Durant. When Draymond has erred, somehow, the Warriors still find a way to be okay.
Which brings us to Game 3 tonight, and the latest test of the Warriors' do or die relationship with Draymond, who will one day have a statue outside of Chase Center for the positives he has brought to this organization.
Should the Warriors win, life, and the series, will go on. Draymond will return in Game 4 with a new level of fire, reinvigorated by the concept of proving everyone who is predicting his end wrong. He will ball out, and the Warriors will probably send the series back to Sacramento tied at two games apiece and a new tone being set. In other words, the Warriors could once again get away with this.
Should the Warriors lose, falling behind three games to none against a Kings team that they are struggling to find answers for on defense, it will be too easy to fault Draymond's absence. Coming back from down 3-0, while possible in theory, is not likely in practice. An opportunity to pick up a key home win will be wasted. A chance at repeating - dashed.
An early exit from these playoffs will not lead to a major free agent signing. At least not one that would include keeping Draymond or even Klay Thompson around. And this core will not be given a chance to simply run it back. A first-round exit for the Warriors would most likely lead to massive changes for this team. Changes to the roster, coaching staff, and even the front office are on the table.
The Warriors live and die by Draymond Green. And for the most part, they have primarily lived. But in this moment, they face the prospect of dying by Draymond Green. For good.
The reckoning is upon the Warriors. And 48 minutes of Draymond Green-free basketball is what separates them between more life, or finally facing that inevitability. The end.
