golden state warriors vs indiana pacers preview: Stephen Curry vs. Paul George tonight at #ROARacle! (Photo:interaksyon)
Golden State Warriors Preview: Golden State Warriors vs. Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers (32-7) vs. Golden State Warriors (26-16)
Tip-off: Monday, January 20th, 2014 – 7:30 PM PST
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Spread: Golden State (-1) meaning Warriors are 1-point favorites
TV: CSN Bay Area / TNT | Radio: KNBR 680 AM
Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors (by @kingofmyworld19 first half, @goldenstatenz second half)
Last Game / Streak:
IND– Won 106-92 at LAC in Indiana, Won 4 straight games
GSW – Won 97-87 at NO in New Orleans, Won 1 straight game
Probable Starting Lineups:
Warriors:
PG: Stephen Curry (23.5 PPG, 9.2 APG, 4.6 RPG)
SG: Klay Thompson (19.1 PPG, 2.5 APG, 3.1 RPG)
SF: Andre Iguodala (9.9 PPG, 4.8 APG, 4.2 RPG)
PF: David Lee (19.2 PPG, 2.3 APG, 9.9 RPG)
C: Andrew Bogut (8.0 PPG, 1.6 APG, 10.3 RPG)
Pacers:
PG: George Hill (10.4 PPG, 3.3 APG, 3.5 RPG)
SG: Lance Stephenson (13.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, 6.8 RPG)
SF: Paul George (23.2 PPG, 3.5 APG, 6.3 RPG)
PF: David West (12.3 PPG, 3.1 APG, 6.7 RPG)
C: Roy Hibbert (12.2 PPG, 1.4 APG, 7.8 RPG)
The Warriors have played pretty well against the Eastern Conference this year. They are 3-0 at Oracle, and 10-2 against the east overall. The Warriors are 19-2 against teams when they hold them under 100 points. The Warriors split the season series with Indiana last year, with the home team winning each.
The Pacers have had an unlucky experience when coming to the Bay Area, they have lost 5 of their last 6 at Oracle. The Pacers also aren’t as superior on the road, 10-6 this season and they have lost 4 out of the last 6. The Pacers however still have a 10-2 record against the Western Conference this year.
Curt Cavin of the Indy Star Sports Group writes:
League’s best trio: From an offensive standpoint, the NBA has no better combination than the Warriors have in Curry (No. 7 in league scoring), Lee (No. 20) and Thompson (No. 22). Curry had 28 in Saturday’s 97-87 win in New Orleans, Lee had 22.
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A first-time look: Indiana coach Frank Vogel said he was “tempted” to give his team Sunday off from practice given the completion of an unbeaten four-game homestand and the day of a long flight to the West Coast, but he said the high-powered Warriors necessitated it. “This is a team we haven’t played yet,” he said. “We have to get off to a real good start.”
Indiana certainly has the respect of the Warriors. Bogut and Iguodala commented on the Pacers today after shootaround.
“Their core group has stayed together, they have a defensive-minded coach,” Bogut said, “They’ve bought into their system and it works for them.”
“You try to pinpoint one guy or try to say they have a superstar player, but they all complement each other really well. Each part makes the other part just equally effective and dangerous and that’s what makes them a tough team,” Iguodala said, “That’d be a perfect team to look at. You watch night in and night out, you see what their mindset is and what they’re focus is in trying to build something.”
The Warriors have the next nine of eleven games at home, but both Bogut and Iguodala are wary of taking home court advantage at #Roaracle for granted.
“I think at times we rely on that too much and we need to just go out there and play basketball like we do on the road,” Bogut said, “Have that edge and the big crowd will have an effect late in the game.”
“That can mess with your psyche as far as (thinking) we’re supposed to win (at home) and it’ll turn around for us if we get down,” Iguodala said, “We gotta go out there and we just gotta do work.”
As far as Iguodala’s hamstring injury, he says it’s fine and he’s more concerned about the team.
“I was just getting back in rhythm going full-speed on both ends. Most important thing is trying to get back on this string of wins and we have an opportunity to do that right now with the schedule,” Iguodala said, “We gotta take care of business here.”
[NOTE: Poor Man’s Commish contributed to this report]Follow @DubsPlayLoud
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