Draymond Green has been sidelined recently with a calf injury that has kept him out of a few contests, namely the Cleveland and Memphis games which happened earlier this week on Sunday and Tuesday. While there were whispers that he may join the Warriors on their upcoming road trip, head coach Steve Kerr ensured that there was little need for speculation moving forward.

“Definitely won’t play the next two, and doubtful for Minnesota” Kerr told reporters during post-practice media availability today.

The Warriors have notably struggled when Draymond does not play this season, as he’s the anchor of the defense in every sense of the word. The team looked solid in last night’s loss to the Grizzlies, but there were a couple lapses where it was obvious Green would have been able to remedy just by being on the court.

Defensively, however, it’s also obvious that Green’s effect on the team has them reaping the rewards. With him missing time, the Warriors are still the #1-rated defense in the NBA, building a lot of their current identity and getting their wins that way as the offense has been in a bit of a lull recently. Green also certainly helps the offense, but it’s Steph Curry’s shooting struggles that have mostly attributed to losses this year.

There is somewhat of an argument for Draymond to be in the MVP conversation, although it doesn’t really have much credence in comparison to Curry’s. Despite him being probably the best defender in the NBA, the Warriors defense doesn’t dip much with him gone. Curry, on the other hand, is the reason the offense goes and the system works.

When he shoots over 40%, the Warriors are unbeaten this season. When he shoots below 40% (which has been rather common recently, actually), they’re a game under .500. All of their losses have come when Curry does not play well because while the defense is very very good, you still need offense to win games. Draymond is obviously a key decision-maker on the offensive end as well, but even when he plays, they look stagnant.

There’s more to the Warriors struggles than just missing Draymond Green, but having a key player sidelined with a tough injury is never a good thing. While it doesn’t figure that they’ll slide too far down the power rankings, it would be best to have him back as soon as possible so the team can start to do some work as one healthy unit now that Klay Thompson has returned.

Green will likely see his next opportunity to play after they play the Minnesota Timberwolves and complete their road trip.

(Photo credit: National Basketball Association)