SAN FRANCISCO — It had been two months since we saw Draymond Green on the court with the Warriors and more than 1,000 days since we saw him play alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
The last time this team’s dynastic triumvirate shared the court for more than seven seconds, the Warriors played in Oakland, we didn’t know much about the Wuhan region in China, “Old Town Road” was the No. 1 song in America, Russell Westbrook was still a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Jonathan Kuminga was 16 years old.
Feeling old yet? Me too.
It had been a while since the Warriors were whole. But what I found most incredible about Monday’s Warriors-Wizards game at Chase Center — a celebratory 126-112 win for the Dubs — was how quickly the top Warriors found the chemistry that sparked the greatest run of professional basketball that had ever been seen here in the Bay.
It was evocative basketball.
“Oh, right, The Warriors.” Remember them?
And all those positive feelings had Green talking title after the game:
“Whether we’re the No. 2 seed or No. 3 seed, we’re going to win a championship,” Green told NBC Sports Bay Area in his postgame interview. “Don’t really matter… I called it months ago.”
For one night, at least, it was easy to believe No. 23.
When you have the kind of rare connection the Warriors’ top three players possess, it doesn’t go away, even after nearly three years and with all three in new stages of their careers.
That special brand of roundball telepathy was on full display Monday.
Absences long and relatively short had helped us forget that Green and Thompson are as responsible for Golden State’s basketball identity — their secret sauce — as the team’s alpha, Curry.
Steve Kerr has called Green the heartbeat of the Warriors; the team’s soul, too. He sure looked like it against the Wizards.
But it’s no coincidence that Curry looked like his old self — his MVP self — on his 34th birthday, scoring 47 points.
Why wouldn’t he? Curry finally had Green back as his point guard — the ultimate trigger man for the best play in basketball: “pass the ball to Steph Curry”.
Curry has had countless players pass him the ball as he rolled off screens the last few weeks, but Monday was a reminder that no one quite executes that simple play with the zeal and glee of Green.
On Green’s very first offensive possession since his return, there he was, on the block, running the split action play to perfection, setting up Curry for 3. We’d seen it countless times before: Everyone in the arena, including the Wizards, knew what was coming, but it was unstoppable.
And yes, the hits still bring the people out of their seats, even if the seats are much newer, in a new city, and even more expensive.
Add in the spacing of Thompson (who scored 20 in the game), the steadiness of Kevon Looney, and some of the Warriors’ impressive newcomers — Jordan Poole, Moses Moody, Kuminga — and it all started to look a bit dynastic again.
In all, Green’s return to the court was a masterclass of what makes him great — what makes the Warriors great.
Yes, he came off the bench as part of a minutes restriction, and indeed, he scored only six points, but his impact, particularly on offense, was omnipresent. His game-high plus-24 rating was indicative.
There were moments of rust, too — a couple of embarrassing turnovers and some bad rotations. It’s hard enough to watch an NBA game after taking two months off — imagine playing in it.
Green might be getting ahead of himself with championship talk. The Warriors will play the Celtics on Wednesday, and Boston’s elite defense and the unstoppable Jayson Tatum will be an outstanding test. We’ll see if the Warriors are really contenders then.
But if Golden State wanted to go on a run — if the Warriors wanted to show everyone they’re a force to be reckoned with — now would be the time to do it.
And with Green hitting the ground running — even if he’s not allowed to run as much as he’d like at the moment — Golden State looks well equipped to sprint right now.
Yes, the Triumvirate is back together. The Warriors, as we once knew them, are back.
The question now is if this is just selling nostalgia or if this team is really looking to attend to some unfinished business.
Seeing as I don’t bet against Curry, Green, and Thompson, I’ll go with the latter.
