Golden State Warriors (1-0) at Los Angeles Lakers (1-0)
Tip-Off: Thursday, October 9, 2014 – 7:30PM PDT
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
TV: NBATV
Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors #LetsGoWarriorsLive
Projected Starting Lineups:
Warriors:
PG: Stephen Curry (24.0 PPG, 8.5 APG, 4.3)
SG: Klay Thompson (18.4 PPG, 2.2 APG, 3.1 RPG)
SF: Andre Iguodala (9.3 PPG, 4.2 APG, 4.7 RPG)
PF: David Lee (18.3 PPG, 2.1 APG, 9.3 RPG)
C: Andrew Bogut (7.3 PPG, 1.7 APG, 10 RPG)
Head Coach: Steve Kerr
Lakers:
PG: Jeremy Lin (12.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 4.1 APG)
SG: Kobe Bryant (13.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.3 APG)
SF: Wesley Johnson (9.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.6 APG)
PF: Carlos Boozer (13.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.6 APG)
C: Jordan Hill (9.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 0.8 APG)
Head Coach: Byron Scott
Last Time Out:
The Golden State Warriors once again take the hardwood at Staples Center following Tuesday’s 112-94 victory over Pacific Division rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers.
While Blake Griffin finished leading all scorers with 24 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes played, it was the Warriors bench that truly shined in Tuesday’s win.
Draymond Green helped lead the bench with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 26 minutes. He also had a game-high +22.
Also with 12 points off the bench was Nemanja Nedovic, who in addition had 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
According to Warriors beat writer Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke highly of “Nedo” following the Clippers game and expects the Serbian point guard to continue his solid play.
“That’s the best I’ve seen Nedo play,” Kerr said. “He’s had a good camp. He had a really good first couple of days. The thing with Nedo is that he just needs to run the team. He doesn’t need to score, but we love the way he pushes the ball. He really attacked and put pressure on the defense.”
Stephen Curry started the game shooting poorly from the field, but he slowly found himself following the first quarter of play. He finished with 12 points and 3 assists, unfortunately ending his night early after fouling out in the third quarter.
Klay Thompson picked up the slack, contributing 20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. David Lee also had a solid night with 13 points and 9 rebounds, and Andrew Bogut looked aggressive as he dropped in 10 points and 7 rebounds.
Keys to the Game:
Other than thoroughly doing away with the #LoLakers, the Warriors’ main focus for tonight’s game for the should be continuing to work on the new offense.
The Warriors committed 23 turnovers against the Clippers, looking sloppy offensively and a bit lost. The spacing was horrible at times, but there’s certainly promise in Kerr’s emphasis on ball movement and fast-paced, high-intensity play.
Defensively, the Warriors looked great against the Clippers. Although Griffin had a surprisingly accurate shooting display from outside, the Clippers had only 3 other players in low double-digits.
Tonight, Curry will likely have the job of guarding Jeremy Lin, who started his career with the Warriors four years ago.
The real spotlight, however, will be on Thompson matching-up with Kobe Bryant. Bryant hasn’t played in a game since suffering an achilles injury when against the Warriors last season.
Kerr spoke about Bryant at the team’s last shootaround.
“Nothing Kobe does surprises me anymore, Kerr said. “Five years ago, he didn’t practice the whole season basically with an arthritic knee. I thought he was done. I thought he’d stick around, but the past couple of years before the Achilles, he looked as good as he’s ever looked. That guy is Superman. He’s an incredible player, and he just seems to get better all of the time.”
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