© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Warriors were still the Warriors on Monday night, but instead of Steve Kerr, Golden State had its players; including Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, David West, and Stephen Curry, coach its game against the Phoenix Suns.
It's Draymond Green's turn with the coaching clipboard during this timeout pic.twitter.com/64JbEWwCuE
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 13, 2018
Some; such as Green, Iguogala, and West, excelled more than others; like Curry, who received a delay of game because he couldn’t finish drawing out the Warriors’ next play before the whistle. After watching Monday night’s 46-point victory, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic shared who he thought did the best job as player-coach with Murph & Mac on Tuesday morning.
“For me, Draymond was clear-cut away the guy who ran away with it the most,” Thompson said. “He was into it. You almost got the sense that he got a little, ‘hey man, this is a little insight into what I might do after basketball.’ So he was full-on in it.”
Stretching back to his days at Michigan State University, Green has played for several of phenomenal coaches. He went from Tom Izzo, Michigan State’s established and well-respected basketball coach, to Mark Jackson, who coached the Warriors from 2011-2014, and now is playing for Kerr.
Green was able to take full advantage of this rare coaching opportunity because he was ruled unavailable against the Suns with a sprained left index finger, unlike Iguodala and West. Nonetheless, Iguodala was able to run practice prior to Monday night’s game and was the first player to serve as coach.
“I think Andre Igoudala and David West took it very seriously, were in it, but they didn’t do all of the stuff that coaches do, like Draymond was able to do, like go into the coach’s box,” Thompson said. “They were playing also, so they had to get their Bill Russell on and Draymond Green was being Izzo.”
After their toughest stretch of the year, which saw them lose back-to-back games for the first time this season, the Warriors are currently on a three-game winning streak and Kerr handing over the reigns to the players was a unique way to freshen up the season. Over their last three games, the Warriors averaged 124 points and scored 129 in their player-led win over the Suns.
“Low key, it was Andre and David West and Draymond Green running the show together,” Thompson said. “But Draymond Green got to be the front man. By virtue of definition, Andre and David West were his assistant coaches.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and start from the beginning Thompson on the Warriors.