Draymond Green says he wants to face 1 team in playoffs
May 18, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) before game one of the 2022 western conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Though his Golden State Warriors still have work to do to avoid the play-in tournament, Draymond Green already has a preferred playoff opponent.
During an episode of his podcast for The Volume this week, Green said that he would like to face the Sacramento Kings in the first round. He clarified that it was “not because I think Sacramento is a weak team” but rather because “the travel is so much easier.”
.@Money23Green wants Sacramento in the playoffs but not for the reason you think pic.twitter.com/cBtVFSuRWH
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 27, 2023
Green’s preference does indeed make plenty of sense logistically. The Kings play their games less than 90 miles away from where the Warriors do. That means no time-zone adjustment and extremely little (if any) travel fatigue. Sacramento is also an inexperienced team that ranks near the bottom-five in the NBA in defensive efficiency (though Green didn’t mention those points).
Granted, the Warriors need to get their act together to even make a first-round matchup with the third-seed Kings happen. They are currently tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves at 39-37 but do not own the tiebreaker and thus currently sit in seventh instead of sixth (No. 3 and No. 6 face off against each other in the first round). Even if the Warriors do get the Kings, they will have to watch out for Sacramento’s historically-efficient offense as well as a head coach who is plenty familiar with them.
