mediocrity | Woods Recruiting

Essentials

Date: Nov. 15, 2010

Time: 10:30 p.m.

Television: Fox Sports Detroit

Records

Pistons: 4-6

Warriors: 6-4

Probable starters

Detroit:

Warriors:

Steph Curry
Monta Ellis
Dorell Wright
Brandan Wright or Dan Gadzuric
Andris Biedrins

Las Vegas projection

Spread: Detroit +7

Over/under: 209.5

Score: Warriors win, 11.75-97.75

Three things to watch

1. The Warriors play defense. For real.

The stingiest unit in the NBA on a points-per-possession basis this season? Would you guess the Warriors regular starting lineup of Curry, Ellis, Wright, David Lee and Biedrins? The additions of Lee and Wright, as well as the health of Biedrins, have been huge defensive upgrades for the Warriors, who look like a playoff contender out West. Fortunately for the Pistons, Lee is out tonight, which will impact the defense and rebounding of the Warriors, and possible replacements Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric are significant drop-offs.

2. Can Ellis/Curry shoot that poorly again?

Steph Curry and Monta Ellis shot a combined 14-for-35, including 0-for-8 on three-pointers in the Pistons’ win over Golden State earlier this month. It’s a stretch to think that can happen again, but part of what worked in the first game was making Curry and Ellis work hard defensively. Stuckey (21 points/9 assists) and Hamilton (27 points) had their best games of the season that night, and they obviously did a good job disrupting the rythym of Golden State’s offense.

3. What will the lineup look like?

John Kuester said Daye was out of the lineup in Sunday’s game against Sacramento because he matched up poorly against the Kings’ frontcourt. He matches up better against Golden State, particularly if they start Brandan Wright for Lee. It’ll be interesting to see who starts for the Pistons. If Daye is out again, it could mean Maxiell as a starter is more of a long-term thing than originally thought. This is right around the time last season that Maxiell became a starter for a prolonged period of time.