The Warriors are off to their best start in franchise history, after notching their 10th win of the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The hero of the night came from a somewhat unlikely source as Marreese Speight had one of the best games of his career, tallying 28 points in 25 minutes off the bench.
After the game, Speights’ name was buzzing all over the internet, and his teammates noticed the performance as well.
“Obviously Mo Speights played amazing the whole game,” Curry said in the post game media session, “he’s getting the opportunity, playing confident, and showcasing what he can do.”
“It’s not surprising to anybody. We enjoy watching him do what he does.”
Look for Speights to continue to give that spark off the bench where is is averaging 11.8 points per game in 12 contests this season.
Turnovers were a problem for the Warriors for the first few weeks of the season. In the first 7 games, the Warriors averaged nearly 22 turnovers per game. In their last 5 games since then, they have averaged 13. Turnovers are becoming less of an issue, but that does not mean they do not need to be a focal point of every game.
Coach Steve Kerr spoke about last nights grind-out game, and how taking care of the ball played a major role in the win.
“What can be taken from that is: on the plus side we can win ugly games because of our defense and our new found ability to take care of the ball,” Kerr said at Monday’s practice, “10 turnovers in a game like that just keeps you in it.”
Turnovers can be a death sentence if they become contagious, so look for the Warriors to continue to make smart passes, and take care of the ball.
Kerr also spoke about tomorrow night’s match-up and what can be expected from this Miami team.
“The biggest challenge with Miami this year is covering the entire floor defensively, Kerr said, “They know what they’re doing, and they spread you out and run really good stuff, so it’s a big challenge for us”
David Lee has been ruled out of this game as he is still recovering from a hamstring strain that he re-injured earlier in the season. Lee, is on the road trip however, and may be available to return in a few more days.
Both Bogut, and Leandro Barbosa are listed as questionable after sustaining injuries that ended their nights in the game against the Thunder. Bogut is dealing with an orbital contusion, but X-Rays revealed that no bone damage was present. Don’t be surprised to see the big man out on the floor as he has been known to fight through injury whenever he can.
Barbosa suffered a sprained knee after being fouled driving to the basket. He finished out the remainder of the 1st quarter but was subbed out early in the 2nd quarter and did not return. Barbosa posted on his instagram after the game saying “I had no serious injury, just a bit of pain.”
Barbosa may end up sitting this one out, but all signs point to this being a relatively short-term recovery.
UPDATE: Kerr said that he believes both Bogut and Barbosa will play tonight in Miami.
Miami’s All-Star shooting guard, Dwayne Wade has missed the last 6 games with a hamstring injury. It is unclear if he will be ready to go by game time, but his return is not out of the question. For the past couple of seasons, Wade has sat out many games for rest, so they are likely in no hurry to rush him back.
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