Golden State Warriors (26-4) at Detroit Pistons (14-17)
Tip-Off: Friday, December 23, 2016 – 4:30 PM PDT
Location: The Palace, Auburn Hills, MI
TV: CSNBAY Radio: 95.7 The Game
Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors #LetsGoWarriorsLive
Projected Starting Lineups:
Golden State Warriors (PPG, RPG, APG)
PG: Stephen Curry (24.4, 4.2, 5.9)
SG: Klay Thompson (21.4, 3.6, 2.1)
SF: Kevin Durant (25.7, 8.4, 4.6)
PF: Draymond Green (10.6, 8.8, 7.2)
C: Zaza Pachulia (4.7, 5.8, 2.3)
Head Coach: Steve Kerr (career: 166-28, 0.856)
Detroit Pistons (PPG, RPG, APG)
G: Reggie Jackson (13.9, 1.7, 4.8)
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (14.2, 3.5, 2.9)
SF: Marcus Morris (13.5, 4.0, 1.7)
PF: Tobias Harris (15.6, 4.9, 1.7)
C: Andre Drummond (14.0, 13.6, 1.1)
Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy (career: 461-313, 0.596)
Injury Report
Pistons: Reggie Bullock (knee) is out.
Warriors: No injuries to report.
Previous Matchups
- Warriors at Detroit Pistons The Pistons beat the Warriors 113-95 on January 16, 2016 at The Palace in Detroit. Pistons rout Golden State 113-95 despite Curry’s 38 points
- Warriors at Brooklyn Nets The Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center last night 117-101. FINAL RECAP WITH HIGHLIGHTS: WARRIORS (26-4) TURN TABLES ON BROOKLYN NETS (7-21), WIN 117-101, A 32-POINT SWING
- Memphis Grizzlies at Pistons The Pistons lost to the Grizzlies at The Palace 98-86 on December 21, 2016. Gasol ties career high with 38, Grizzlies beat Pistons 98-86
Game Notes
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See you in Detroit, Draymond! pic.twitter.com/fbFGtp4Mgm
— LetsGoWarriors (@LetsGoWarriors) December 23, 2016
- The return of Green significantly buoys the team with the NBA’s best record at 26-4. He leads the Warriors in rebounds (8.8), assists (7.2) and steals (2.3), while ranking fourth on the team with 10.6 points. An early candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, Green is among the league’s top five in deflections (first, 4.5) and contested shots (fourth, 14.0). He has made crunch-time stops to help preserve four Golden State wins this season. — Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle
- A huge comeback soon morphed into an easy blowout, as it was originally expected to be, but attached to a lesson. “It’s a good reminder that no matter who you’re playing, where you’re playing, if you don’t defend, you’re in big trouble,” Kerr said. “You have to defend to win. That’s the lesson tonight.” — Anthony Slater, The Mercury News
- The ‘Who cares about Detroit?’ line riled up the Pistons fanbase and rookie Stanley Johnson fired back later that day. “No one is scared of playing against [Durant] on this side of town,” Johnson said. “Next year we have two games scheduled, and I know, for me, it’s circled on my schedule from now on. I think by saying that, he disrespected our whole team.” With Durant’s departure, some of the tension has surely diminished. But he rides into town with his new team on Friday night and you can bet Pistons fans will loudly remind him of the comment. — Anthony Slater
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