Draymond details two ways Warriors can beat Kings tonight originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Draymond Green is looking internally when detailing how the Warriors can beat the Kings in their Western Conference Play-In game Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
While Green knows the Warriors must slow down Kings stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the four-time NBA champion forward made it clear on his latest podcast that Golden State needs to focus on itself in the win-or-go-home matchup.
“I think for us to win, a very young, fast team, one of the most important things for us to win this game, we really need to take care of the ball,” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show,” which was posted Monday. “We take care of the ball, we get shots up, we’re then able to play great defense, not be in transition all game, you get your defense set.
“So it’ll be really important for us to take care of the basketball. That will be the No. 1 key in the game for us. Take care of the ball, get looks at the rim. If we’re getting looks at the rim, I like the odds that we’ll make them. We have great shooters, we have great scorers. I think that will be big for us.”
During the 2023-24 NBA season, the Warriors committed the eight-most turnovers per game at 14.3 and they weren’t much better over the last 15 games, when they went 11-4, as they committed 14.2 giveaways during that span.
In the four regular-season games against the Kings, the Warriors committed 19, 17, 18 and 13 turnovers, respectively.
Aside from taking care of the ball, Green believes the Warriors’ X-factor is Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State’s biggest breakout player this season.
“And if I would say there’s one player that’s very important for us to win this game, obviously Andrew Wiggins is important on both sides of the ball,” Green said. “But I think our X-factor is extremely important in this game in Jonathan Kuminga.
“Jonathan Kuminga brings a different flare to our team. He brings something not many people in the NBA bring to a team, great getting down hill, great finishing at the rim. So I think Kumimga is going to be very important to our success with his athleticism. This being a young, athletic group, he makes us more athletic. So if Kuminga plays well, we win.
“I have no doubt in my mind that Kuminga’s going to be ready for the moment and play well. He’s taken that next step and this is the moment, where when you’re taking that next step, you got to go and I expect nothing less from the young fella Kuminga.”
After a slow start to his third NBA season that included a disagreement with coach Steve Kerr regarding his role, Kuminga took off in January.
From the Warriors’ Jan. 5 win over the Detroit Pistons through the end of the season, the 21-year-old forward averaged 18.7 points on 54.2-percent shooting from the field in 41 games (34 starts). He also grabbed 5.4 rebounds during that span and shot 36.1 percent from 3-point range.
Prior to that Kuminga averaged 12.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 33 games to begin the season.
When Kuminga returned from a knee injury that caused him to miss six consecutive games towards the end of the season, Kerr had the former first-round draft pick come off the bench in favor of starting rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis in order to boost the Warriors’ defense.
The Warriors are going to need a big game from Steph Curry in order to have a chance to beating the Kings in Sacramento, but if Green’s two keys to the game play out like he says, it could be an easy win for Golden State.
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