Detroit Pistons (2-4) at Golden State Warriors (4-3)
Tipoff: Tues. 11/12/2013, 7:30PM PDT
Location: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
TV: CSN Bay Area/NBA TV | Radio: KNBR 680 AM
Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors (by @goldenstatenz)
The Golden State Warriors return home tonight after a four-game road trip where they went 2-2. Their two wins came against the Philadelphia 76ers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. They almost pulled off a great comeback win against the San Antonio Spurs, but they fell a little short. They finished off the road trip with a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
After the game against the Grizzlies, it’s clear that the Warriors need to improve on a few areas. The first area that they need to improve on is taking care of the paint. The Grizzlies had 54 points in the paint compared to the Warriors’ 18 points. This wide of a margin is simply unacceptable. Yes, the Grizzlies have two of the best frontcourt players in the NBA (Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph), but this can’t happen against the Detroit Pistons tonight.
Against the Grizzlies, the Warriors also got out-rebounded 44-33. After tying for second in the NBA last season in most rebounds per game with 45, the Warriors currently rank 12th in the NBA with 43.7 rebounds per game. The Warriors need to out-rebound the Pistons in order to win. The Pistons fight for offensive rebounds, so the Warriors’ frontcourt is going to have their hands full.
Andre Iguodala explained why the Pistons thrive when they control the glass and what the Warriors will have to do to stop them.
“They’re pushing the ball, so we’re going to have to get back in transition. That’s what makes them go because they’re rebounding the ball and they’re going. If they do miss, they’re hitting the boards offensively too. So it’s going to be an up and down game. It’s going to be a matter of controlling the boards. The guards are going to have to come up with a lot of rebounds tonight in order for our team to win.”
The Warriors also need to take care of the ball better. The Warriors turned the ball over 17 times against the Grizzlies, which is simply unacceptable.
“We’re an up-tempo team. The one thing we don’t want to do is throw away possessions,” Mark Jackson said. “It’s always important for us to value the basketball, and it starts with Steph and pretty much all of our guys on the floor, especially when you play against the better teams. They’re going to be better defensively, and you’ve got to be a lot sharper with your execution.”
Keys to the game:
1. Control the paint: The Pistons have some serious weapons in their frontcourt, including Josh Smith and Greg Monroe. The Pistons average 53 points in the paint per game, so the Warriors need to lock down on defense and not let the opposing frontcourt take over like they did in Memphis.
2. Rebound, rebound, rebound: Detroit ranks second in the NBA with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game. The Warriors have to keep the Pistons’ big men off the glass and grab those defensive rebounds.
3. Big night from Bogut: We all know that David Lee is a double-double machine, but the Warriors need more from Andrew Bogut offensively. Coach Jackson has said recently that he wants Bogut to be more aggressive on offense. He’s a beast on defense, but he needs to match the intensity of the Pistons’ frontcourt and look for his shot more.
4. Drain those threes: For the season, the Pistons are allowing opponents to shoot 37.5 percent from the three, which ranks as 23rd in the NBA. Against the Grizzlies, the Warriors shot just 33.3 percent from three, down from their season average of 43.2 percent. If the Warriors can hit threes, the Pistons will have a hard time winning this game.
NOTE: Poor Man’s Commish contributed to this report.
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