Draymond gives passionate defense of Warriors teammate Podziemski

Draymond gives passionate defense of Warriors teammate Podziemski originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green has an explanation Brandin Podziemskis struggling this season.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday after Warriors’ 120-97 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Green offered his thoughts on the second-year pro’s struggles.

“What he’s trying to work through is your fault,” Green said, referring to the media. “…It’s hard, and I’m not saying this from experience myself, I’m saying this from experience watching people, it’s hard to have a great rookie season and come back with a good second year or better. It’s tough.

“That’s why you always hear about the sophomore slump. It’s a very tough thing to do and I think for him, he’s just put so much pressure on himself or the player he wants to be, or that he thinks he should be and it’s unnecessary because what he’s special about is doing all the other things on the floor and when you put pressure on yourself like “I’m going to make this shot “, but there are some guys who have that pressure and have to because that’s what they do. If you don’t have to have that pressure, and I say that from experience, then don’t put that pressure on yourself.”

While Podziemski excelled in his first season and earned the NBA All-Rookie honors, the 21-year-old has struggled mightily in the offensive 13 games into the season. Podziemski is averaging 7.8 points per game while shooting 38 percent from the field and an underwhelming 19.1 percent from 3-point range.

Green has been quick to offer his mentorship and explained how the rest of the Warriors know Podziemski wants to turn things around around at the end.

“Me and Steph (Curry) talk to him every day like, ‘Who cares, miss seven (shots), nobody cares but you,'” Green told reporters. “Like you’re the only person who thinks about the shots you miss. ‘ No one else thinks about it, but he puts pressure on himself, what he has to be, and every shot means so much.

“It’s a soft Wednesday in November, that shot doesn’t mean much. But he carries that weight, and I think anyone who carries that amount of weight in anything, it affects you negatively. And I hate it for him, and so it’s something we’ve tried to talk to him about. Don’t react to everything that goes wrong for you. Nobody cares but you. No one else.

“You almost want to tell him, ‘Shut up, man!’ Because again, none of us think that way… when the tempo you bring down the floor, the rebounds you get, the steals you get on the weak side of the rotation, the charges you take, that are all good things, so if the one thing you’re struggling with is your shot, but you’re doing five or six other things, I think it’s going to offset your shot that if he leans into it, the shots are going to fall.”

While the Warriors (11-3) are off to a strong start, the team will need Podziemski to figure out his shot as the injuries pile up and the stress of the NBA season takes its toll. For Golden State to remain in the hunt for the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed, its bench needs to start carrying more of the offensive load.

Expecting Curry to score at will in every game is not realistic. Given the depth of reserves, who are on pace to score most bench points in NBA history, it does not fall entirely on the 21-year-old to score.

With such strong mentors backing him, Podziemski should regain his shot at some point this season and break out of this slump.

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