The Golden State Warriors are getting hot at the right time.
They’re winners of four games in a row, and that’s without Stephen Curry, Gary Payton II, and Andrew Wiggins.
Their latest win was one of the most dominant of the season, as they manhandled the Los Angeles Clippers with ease.
Notably, and unsurprisingly to some, the Warriors targeted Russell Westbrook on both ends of the floor, and it worked all night long.
Draymond Green revealed that Steve Kerr game-planed around the former MVP, adding that Russ’ confidence just went down when they didn’t even bother playing defense on him outside of the restricted area.
“The game plan worked for us tonight. We got Russ to miss some shots. I think when you have a game plan like that, I know everyone will always judge Russ’ jump shot—but what that does to you mentally is tough,” Green said. “I think it was more mental than his shot. He’s been shooting the ball well. I think he’s shooting the three at 33 or 34 percent. But mentally, that can get tough. I thought we did a good job of sticking with the game plan, and we was able to muck it up on the defensive side. It ended up working out for us.”
Draymond explains the game plan to sag off Russ and how it could've made him overthink pic.twitter.com/6WER0pKDDj
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 3, 2023
Westbrook has never been a good mid-range or long-range shooter; he’s always made the most of his strength, hops, and athleticism to do his damage.
He also has a tendency to try and do way too much, especially when his shot isn’t falling, so this doesn’t actually seem like a surprise.
Westbrook had taken his career back from the ground with the Los Angeles Lakers, embracing a role off the bench and serving as the catalyst for the second unit’s offense.
But it’s evident that his best years are far behind him, and he will find some trouble getting a new deal after spending four years with five different teams.
He’s not to blame for everything, and he’s still a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Then again, it’s hard to make a case for you when you don’t seem to be a good fit on any team anymore.
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