The Golden State Warriors haven't looked all that golden as of late. Ever since the calendar flipped to the new year, the Dubs have been less dominant. There's one key reason why they have slowed down: one of their best and most important players has been absent.

In these past few weeks, Draymond Green's importance to Golden State has been made obvious. His presence impacts the entire game. He leads the team in rebounds, steals and blocks per game. Without him, Golden State is missing their most valuable defender and a key offensive cog that can initiate plays.

Green has only played once in the Warriors' last nine games, in which they have only won three times. Overall, the Warriors have a losing record in games that Green has missed this season. Their embarrassing loss to the Indiana Pacers, a bad team that was missing its best players due to injuries, fully exposed their need for Green.

Green was sidelined with a back injury and is scheduled to be reevaluated sometime next week. For the Warriors' sake, they need him to be ready as soon as possible.

The Warriors have tried plugging in both Otto Porter Jr. and rookie Jonathan Kuminga into the starting lineup in Green's place. Although Kuminga has shown some promise and Porter is one of the team's most efficient 3-point shooters, neither of them brings what Green can bring. They both need good looks on offense provided for them rather than providing the offense for others. They also cannot replicate Green's value on defense but that is no slight to them, as only a few players in the whole league, if any, could do so.

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The Warriors rely heavily on Stephen Curry moving off the ball to generate good shots. But Green is the other key part of that strategy as his playmaking skills allow him to find Curry in his spots or take advantage of the defensive scramble he creates. Especially with Klay Thompson still regaining his true NBA form, Green is highly valuable to the Warriors' offense, even though he doesn't even score 10 points per game.

Golden State still has the makings of a title contender even if they don't look like it right now. Now, though, they fully understand how valuable Green is and how limited they are without him.