PREVIEW: Golden State Warriors (1-0) At Houston Rockets (0-1) – Andrew Bogut Out With Concussion

Golden State Warriors (1-0) At Houston Rockets (0-1)

Tip-off: Friday, October 30th, 2015 – 6:30PM PDT

Location: Toyota Center, Houston, TX

TV: CSN Bay Area & ESPN | Radio: KNBR 680

Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors #LetsGoWarriorsLive

Projected Starting Lineups:

Warriors (2014-15: PPG, RPG, APG)

PG: Stephen Curry (23.8, 4.3, 7.7)

SG: Klay Thompson (21.7, 3.2, 2.9)

SF: Harrison Barnes (10.1, 5.5, 1.4)

PF: Draymond Green (11.7, 8.2, 3.7)

C: Festus Ezeli (4.4, 3.4, 0.2)

Head Coach: Luke Walton (career: 0-0, .000)*

Rockets (2014-15: PPG, RPG, APG)

PG: Ty Lawson (15.2, 3.1, 9.6)

SG: James Harden (27.4, 5.7, 7.0)

SF: Trevor Ariza (12.8, 5.6, 2.5)

PF: Terrence Jones (11.7, 6.7, 1.1)

C: Dwight Howard (, 2.4, 0.5)

Head Coach: Kevin McHale (career: 228-179, .560)

Previous Matchups

• WARRIORS: On 10/27/2015 (three nights ago) at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA the Warriors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 111-95. Curry scored 40 points after the ring ceremony but Thompson was saddled with 5 fouls, 7 turnovers and just 9 points. Meanwhile, Andrew Bogut suffered a laceration above his right eye on a hit to the head by Dante Cunningham, and did not make tge roadtrip due to a concussion. RECAP: Stephen Curry Scores 40 Points As Warriors Rout New Orleans Pelicans, 111-95
• ROCKETS: On 10/28/2015 (two nights ago) at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX the Denver Nuggets defeated the Rockets, 105-85, as Danilo Gallinari scored 23 points and Harden shot just 6-for-21 and 2-for-12 from beyond the arc. Howard served a one-game suspension from unsportsmanlike conduct from the end of the 2014-15 regular season.
• WARRIORS VS ROCKETS: On 10/15/2015 at Oracle Arena, the Warriors defeated a depleted preseason Rockets squad as four starters were out. Bogut also broke his nose on a drive by KJ McDaniels. ? ? ?#GSWJournal: Sights, Sounds, Links From Warriors Post-Game Win Vs Houston Rockets
• WARRIORS AT ROCKETS: On 5/25/2015 at the Toyota Center, Harden scored 45 points as the Rockets staved off elimination in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to force a Game 5. Curry also took a horrifying fall while contesting an Ariza layup and winding up getting undercut in the process, but somehow managed to escape the incident unscathed. RECAP, Game 4: Harden Torches Warriors For 45 Points, Houston Rockets Force Game 5 With 126-115 Win

Game Notes

• * – “Warriors’ results under Luke Walton will count on (Steve) Kerr‘s official coaching record.” — Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle
• “‘It wasn’t that long ago,’ Golden State forward Draymond Green said. ‘And we do have some good memories of playing here and of playing this team.'”

— Jenny Dial Creech, Houston Chronicle

• “Warriors have won 9 of their last 10 games against the Rockets (regular season and playoffs).” — Brian Witt, Warriors.com
• “He embraces the fact he and the Warriors are getting stern tests right out of the chute as they begin their title defense, and it doesn’t get much tougher than the Rockets on the road. ¶ Bring it on, says Steph.
  .
  ‘I think it’s good,’ he said. ‘It puts us to the test right away. There’s no time to really walk into the season. You have to be ready, especially on the road. It’ll test us to have that championship-caliber focus that we’re going to need for all 82 games this year.’
  .
  Golden State’s first five games are all against Western Conference playoff teams…” — Carl Steward, Bay Area News Group
• “Howard brings career averages of 18.1 points and 12.7 rebounds.
  .
  ‘Great center,’ Ezeli said. ‘I’m looking forward to it. Like any other time, be ready when you’re called. I’m ready.’
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  Walton plans to rotate defenders on Howard, from Ezeli and Marreese Speights to Draymond Green and possibly Jason Thompson. Green gives up 4 inches to Howard, but Walton will use that to his advantage.
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  “I’ll probably tell Draymond he’s too small to guard Dwight, just to piss him off,” Walton said.
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  Kerr stays home: Head coach Steve Kerr ultimately decided to stay home rather than join the Warriors on the trip. Kerr had said Tuesday that he might make the trip.” — Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle
• Ariza will likely guard Thompson: “‘James rarely ever guards me,’ Thompson said of a player against whom he has competed since the two were teenagers in greater Los Angeles.” — Monte Poole, CSN Bay Area
• “‘We just have to come out and play with energy from the beginning, hit them first,’ Howard said. ‘They’re a team that’s going to come out and play hard the whole game. You have to hit them first and go from there. You can’t take their best punch and expect to come back in the game. You have to hit first and keep hitting.'” — Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle
• “Donatas Motiejunas (lower back pain) is out.” — Warriors PR via Rockets PR

(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via NBAE/Getty)