Opponent Scouting: Golden State Warriors. (5-2)
Tonight at 7:00 pm EST the Detroit Pistons will be hosting the Warriors of Golden State at the LCA. Both teams are on the second night of a back-to-back with both teams having lost. Detroit to the Suns and the Warriors to the Cavaliers.
The Them:
The Warriors may be old and maybe not as scary as they once were but they are healthy right now and that means they are a force. Steph Curry is as good as ever, scoring 30 points per game and shooting nearly 50% from deep on nearly 12 attempts per game, Klay Thompson doesn’t defend like he used to but he is not too far off his former self offensively. Draymond Green is still one of the leagues premier defensive players and he’s not shying away from shooting quite as much as he often has in the past, Andrew Wiggins has shot poorly so far but he does some of everything on the wing for this team. Kevon Looney rounds out the starting lineup as a placeholder big who just does your basics of rebounding and screening. Chris Paul comes off the bench here and while he doesn’t do much scoring he still spends valuable time as a facilitator and leads the team with 8 assists per game.
Jonathan Kuminga is still a bit unformed but he’s an athletic wing who brings a spark. Moses Moody may not end up being more than a decent rotation wing but thats probably all the Warriors really need him to be. Gary Payton II is a terrorizing defender, Dario Saric is just kinda there.
The depth isn’t great here but they are not nearly as top-heavy as, say, the Suns are. And Steph Curry has clearly shown that this group is enough to latch onto him.
Matchups to watch:
Energy Levels: Both teams on a back-to-back, with the Warriors on their 3rd in 4 nights, fatigue could play a role in this game.
Duren/Stew vs. Attacking inside: Kevon Looney is tough as nails but he should struggle with Duren. The Warriors continue to be small enough up front that a team with the offensive rebounding potential of Detroit should be able to give them trouble, the Pistons need to take advantage.
Pistons vs. Dumb turnovers: Not much explanation needed. Dumb turnovers become open 3s against the Warriors.
Pistons vs. Constant vigilance: The warriors do so much off-ball stuff with their shooters that this will be a huge test for the Pistons young defenders. Ausar has been brilliant but he has been susceptible to losing his man around screens away from the ball. That is death against the Warriors.
Pistons vs. Defensive energy: The Pistons looked slow against Pheonix and I’m sure Monty Williams has not let them forget. Hopefully they come out ready to play tonight.