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Draymond Green Had Blunt Response on Returning to Play-In Tournament

Eva Geitheim

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The Golden State Warriors are returning to the NBA play-in tournament after falling to the Los Angeles Clippers 124–119 in overtime on Sunday. The Warriors had a chance to earn a top-six seed, but lost three of their final five games of the regular season and will now have to go through the play-in tournament to try and earn a postseason berth.

Going through the play-in tournament also means that the Warriors will miss out on an extra week of rest if they do advance to the postseason. Golden State star Draymond Green insisted that a lack of rest is not an issue, bluntly saying that they are "not senior citizens."

“We’ll be fine," Green told reporters after Sunday's loss. "Playoffs you're playing no back-to-backs or anything like that so just got to get there. We'll be alright. We’re not senior citizens. We’re high-level basketball players. ... We've been training all year for this. No disrespect to the senior citizens, by the way. We love our senior citizens.”

Green emphasized this point when he was asked by a reporter if fatigue had an effect on the Warriors' ability to go after loose balls.

“Hell no," Green retorted. "You just gotta stick your nose in there and get the loose ball. It ain’t got nothing to do with no fatigue. If you was fatigued tonight, you should go home and stay home.”

Fatigue might not be an issue for the Warriors, but Golden State has not previously performed well in the play-in tournament. The Warriors failed to advance to the postseason in their last two appearances in the play-in tournament. This team is in a better position to move forward though. They previously held the No. 8 or No. 10 seed in their recent play-in tournament appearances, but coming in as the No. 7 seed should give them a better shot to advance.

The Warriors will take on the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in tournament on Tuesday. The winner of that game will enter the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the West, lining them up for a matchup with the No. 2 Houston Rockets.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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