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Kendra AndrewsESPN
SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green is set to return for the Golden State Warriors on Monday against the Washington Wizards in Chase Center after missing the past two months with a lower back injury.
Green said he expects to play with a 20- to 23-minute restriction for the next 10 to 14 days as he builds up his conditioning.
“I’m usually against any restrictions. I hate them,” Green said. “Any time I’ve had one I get into a fight with Coach or with [team president] Rick [Welts]. I am actually very inviting of it this time around. I know I need it. I know I need them to protect me from myself.”
Green says he plans on using the next two to three weeks to get his legs under him and his reaction-time quickness back, with the hope that by the time there is a week or more left in the regular season, he will be close to where he was before his injury as the team gears for the playoffs.
“In returning from an injury, it’s never what you left,” Green said. “It’s not like I’m going to come back doing all the same things I was doing when I went out. Just kind of coming in and figuring out where I can help. I’ve watched for two months — I already have in my mind where I can help … But you still have to figure the flow of the game out. I’ll just come in and let the game come to me.”
It has been 1,005 days since Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have played in a game together, not including the seven seconds Green was on the court for Klay Day on Jan. 9.
The Warriors have been tracking the numbers until the trio would reunite because, as Green put it, “we built this thing from ground zero.”
During Green’s absence the Warriors have struggled, stringing together a five-game losing streak for the first time this season.
The hope, and expectation, is that simply having Green on the court will address a lot of the issues the Warriors have had. But they know he won’t fix everything, especially as he gets back into game shape.