Warriors' Draymond Green has a lot to prove in play-in game

Draymond Green missed a game-tying layup Sunday, sending the Golden State Warriors into the play-in game. He'll be trying to make up for that miss, and another costly miss in 2021, when the Warriors play the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Draymond.

.. woof.



pic.twitter.com/M967Gcv2Gr Against the Clippers on Sunday, Green missed a point-bank layup that would have tied the game, 121-121.

Instead, he missed, the Warriors were forced to foul and Buddy Hield missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Warriors to seventh place and the play-in tournament. This year's play-in game is a rematch of the No. 7 vs.

No. 9 play-in game from 2021, which the Memphis Grizzlies won in overtime. In the final second of regulation, the Grizzlies double-teamed Steph Curry, which gave Green an open floater from a few feet away — and Green missed it badly.

While Green's defense has been outstanding down the stretch this season, including during Sunday's game, his offense hurt his team late. He did shoot 4-for-6 from three-point range, but he was 1-for-3 on layups. Green's potential playoff opponents only ramp up the pressure on him.

He's clashed with the Grizzlies for years, getting tossed from a playoff game in 2022 and maintaining an extended feud with former Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks. If the Warriors can get past the Grizzlies on Tuesday, they'll face Brooks' new team, the No. 2-seed Houston Rockets.

The Rockets also have forward Tari Eason, who got into a minor kerfuffle with Green over an Instagram story last March. Green loves to talk trash, whether it's on the court or on his podcast. He needs to focus up offensively in crunch time, though, or he'll have far more free time to podcast than he wants this spring.

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com.