Draymond: Opening-night beatdown was best for Warriors
A summer of hype and unruly intrigue followed the 73-win Golden State Warriors as they opened the 2016-17 NBA regular season by hosting the formidable San Antonio Spurs - who proceeded to lay the smackdown on the Dubs in a 129-100 trouncing on Oct. 25.
Every game is a learning experience, even when your roster is comprised of four of the top players on the planet with a suitable supporting cast like Golden State's is. Losing the way they did was enlightening for All-Star forward Draymond Green and his teammates, showing them that talent alone wasn't going to guarantee them anything in a campaign when the opposition would be extra motivated to knock them off their perch.
"I think it was one of the best things that could have ever happened to us," Green said during a podcast appearance with The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski. "Number one, it's easy to say we've got this, we've got that. Like we've got KD, Steph, Klay, myself ... like, we're going to be alright. We've got Andre. Like, nobody can touch us. I think it's easy to fall into that.
"All of a sudden, you come out and you get cracked by 30 points, and it's like, let's re-evaluate this thing. Let's figure out what we really need to do, and what's really going to help this team. So I think that really was one of the best things that could have ever happened to us."
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The Warriors, who bolstered the fifth-best defense in the league last season by allowing just 100.9 points per 100 possessions, saw San Antonio drop 30 or more points on them every single quarter. The Spurs connected on 23-of-26 free throws, 12 3-pointers, and 48 percent of their total attempts.
Green however, had a sensational final line of 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and five steals in 32 minutes in a losing effort.
"It was good for us. It was an early wake-up call, one that we needed," Green added. "I think one that I've heard people say that it released some of the expectations off of them (Warriors). No it didn't. That didn't release a single expectation off of us. It was different. It was a shocker. But like I said, I think it was really, really, really good for this team, and something we needed, and to have that right away, it really made us lock in and focus on the things that we need to focus on if we want to be good."
Golden State has dropped just one outing since then, currently owning a 12-2 record for second place in the Western Conference. It's weird to think a loss on opening night could be a turning point of sorts, but for the Warriors, it was just what the doctor ordered.
"I look from here we were in game one - which I didn't expect to be that bad (in game one), but we were really bad - and where we are now, and it's like night and day. And then I look at where we are right now, but the possibilities of where we're going to be, and it's scary," Green said.