Kurtenbach: Draymond Green was a problem for the Warriors, so he became a solution

Draymond Green is a basketball genius, and after watching Game 3 of the Warriors’ first-round series with the Sacramento Kings at home, he came to a significant conclusion:

He had been the problem when the Warriors lost the series’ first two games.

The Warriors’ offense looked better when Green watched the game on TV. There was more space on the floor for Steph Curry and Jordan Poole to work. The Warriors’ sets and rotations made more sense. And on the other side of the floor, where Green has built a Hall of Fame resume, the Warriors looked good, too — Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins formed a defensive combination with balance and poise.

It was only one game, but the Warriors were better off without Green. Pair that with his up-and-down play in last year’s NBA Finals and his preseason punch of Poole, and things were looking bleak for No. 23.

But with the problem diagnosed, Green went about fixing it.

He offered to start Game 4 on the bench. Warriors coach Steve Kerr agreed with that idea.

And then Green went into the practice gym, working on the things that would allow him to fit what the Warriors needed of him on offense.

The Warriors won Green’s return game, Game 4, at home.

And Wednesday, with Green starting the game on the bench again, they won Game 5 in Sacramento, putting them one win away from advancing to the second round of the postseason.

Green has gone from being a problem to being a solution.

It’s a winner’s move to swallow your pride and do what’s necessary to provide what your team needs.

And if we’ve learned anything about Green over the last decade, it’s that he’s the ultimate winner.

The Warriors’ forward knew that to help his team win, he would have to re-invent himself as a two-way wing — playing on the perimeter on both sides of the court.

The Kings’ space-and-pace was trouncing the Warriors when they played Green with Looney. It was a two-center lineup in a situation that only allowed for one. Putting two non-shooters on the floor for the Warriors, making defense easy for the Kings — one of the NBA’s worst defensive teams this season.

And with Looney thriving in this series and Green looking for footing, it was on the latter to change his game to fit the style of basketball the Warriors needed to play.

The defense would never be an issue — Green is one of the greatest defenders in the sport’s history.

But Green changing his offensive game was a big ask.

Green has never been much of a shooter. He’s a passer, screener, and orchestrator who will only shoot if it’s a layup or he’s wide open, and the shot clock is winding down.

Looney had earned big minutes. If Green wanted to be on the floor with him in this series, he needed to shoot.

So he did.

In Game 4, he took 14 shots. On Wednesday, he scored 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including a 16-foot, one-footed fadeaway jumper to put the Warriors up 3 with just under four minutes to play.

The shot had his teammates calling him “Draymond Nowitzki.”

Kerr called it “maybe the biggest shot of the game.”

“When I came back for Game 4, I finished with 12 points, but I should have had 20 points,” Green told TNT after Game 5. “I missed like six or seven layups in that game. I knew where my spots would be and how I would get my shots in. The last three days, I’ve just been in the gym every day, working on some cuts, some finishes, some floaters.”

It paid off.

And while this offensive renaissance won’t likely be permanent — the Kings demand this from Green, but not every team in the Western Conference bracket will — the Warriors will never turn down the found money that is an efficient offensive game from Green.

“Our bigs need to be aggressive, especially with the way Sacramento is guarding us — they’re putting a lot of pressure on the perimeter. Draymond found some openings and attacked the rim well and really finished well,” Kerr said.

“That’s one of the luxuries of coming off the bench — you can kind of feel the game out, see what’s going on, and if there’s a need for something, you can come in and insert yourself into that need,” Green said.

Plenty of doubt has been thrown Green’s way over the last year-plus. I’ve been part of that chorus. Shame on me for doubting the man I once claimed had “mystical powers of winning.”

And shame on me for thinking such powers were mystical. No, it’s smarts, toughness, guile, and — this might seem ironic — self-awareness that has made the names of both Green and the Warriors synonymous with winning.

Once again, he came in and inserted himself into a need.

“The day you get tired of winning — what’s the other side of that? Losing?” Green said. “I don’t think no one wants to feel that.”

Especially not Green.