Draymond Green leads the Warriors with his heart. But they also need him to play with his brain.
That's the only accurate assessment of the situation the Golden State Warriors are presently in, trailing the Sacramento Kings 2-0 in their first-round playoff series
and facing a Game 3 without Green after learning on Tuesday night that he will be punished for stomping on Domantas Sabonis.
So much is at stake because of Green, not the least of which is the Warriors' dynasty.
The terrible 11-30 road record, the creep of discomfort and age and injuries, the simmering tensions,
all of that vulnerability despite the tremendous upside and talent now hyper-charged because one of this team's builders self-destructed. Again.
Green has always been the Warriors' heart and soul, but now he's transformed his on-court fire into a force capable of consuming his own squad.
It's irrelevant whether Green deserved the one-game suspension he received after stepping on Sabonis' chest during the Warriors' Game 2 loss.
What matters is that Green's past has jeopardized his team's future, and he is solely to blame.