The Golden State Warriors will face off against the Los Angeles Lakers for the third time this season in their next match. With both teams at a 1-1 stalemate in 2024, fans will be waiting to see which one will gain the edge and secure the 9th seed on the points chart for themselves. With Stephen Curry having been on the sidelines for the past few games due to an ankle injury, Warriors fans had been hoping for Draymond Green to lead the team during this crucial faceoff. After developing soreness in his lower back, Green’s availability has also been questioned.

‘The Athletic’ journalist Anthony Slater added a tweet to X and updated the injury report of Golden State. He wrote, “Steph Curry (ankle) and Draymond Green (low back soreness) officially listed as questionable tomorrow night in LA vs Lakers.” Through this, one can conclude that both players have less than 50% chance of making an appearance at the Crypto.com Arena.

Draymond Green was also listed as ‘questionable’ during the previous Injury Report released before the Warriors’ game against the Mavericks. Slater later highlighted that his availability “would be a game-time decision”. As fans came to see, the player was not made available during the game, and his team lost by 10 points. There is a probability that the final decision to include him in the next game’s lineup may not come until the final few minutes.

Given that the Lakers’ lead scorers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, have been listed as ‘probable’ on their injury report, the final decision may come down to whether they will need the player to put up a strong defense against the duo.

During the recent episode of his podcast, the 34-year-old player highlighted his lower back soreness by stating “My back has been bothering me for like four or five games and I’ve kind of been going through it like just playing through it and playing through it”. After taking a much-needed break, Green continued to state that his “plan and hope is to play Saturday.” But, while the team is already trying to win without Steph Curry, can GSW also manage to mask the absence of Draymond Green?

Why is Draymond Green’s presence a necessity against the Lakers?

During his 12 years with the Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green has played over 798 regular season games. 37 of them have been against the Lakers. The player has not been a reliable source on the offensive part during these games, averaging only 8.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. On the defensive side, however, he is a much-needed asset. Even after over a decade, Green has averaged an all-time defensive rating of 101.1 against the Lakers.

The same may have dropped to 106.1 during the current season, but it’s still a good rating when facing off against the Lakers offensive lineup. Furthermore, given that the average league defensive rating this season is 116.4, Draymond Green’s low stat is still better than what most of the other defenders possess. Given the prowess that the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year is capable of displaying, fans will be hoping that Draymond Green will be present to lead the Warriors at the Crypto.com Arena.

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