In their last contest, the Warriors looked much better and began their new winning streak against the Brooklyn Nets. Led by Thompson’s 25 points, the offense looked much more fluid in their uptempo game. With the emergence of Draymond Green, the Warriors are utilizing their many weapons and many chipped in for the win. For those who are fans of the short sleeved jerseys, the Warriors will don the new slate colored jerseys.
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This will be the first time the Charlotte Hornets have returned to the Oracle in a really long time. Once the Bobcats, the newly renamed Hornets are looking to make a splash with their young roster centered on big man Al Jefferson. Steph’s dad used to play for the Hornets; to this day, Dell Curry remains as the franchise’s leading scorer.
*Injury Note: (GSW) David Lee
Players To Watch
Lance Stephenson
It took a few games for Stephenson to get acclimated to this teammates but he looks to have finally gotten on the same page. Stephenson isn’t afraid to do the dirty work for his squad such as: defending the best perimeter player, rebounding, or passing. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to make his team better. It’ll be a fun match up to see Lance square up with Klay. Both players are two of the best guard defenders in the league with the ability of dropping in 20 points.
Al Jefferson
Jefferson is their go to man in the offense. The NBA veteran has the ability to bring in double doubles on a regular basis. With Stephenson’s hustle and crashing of the boards, Jefferson’s rebounding numbers have dipped this season. When the Hornets force feed Big Al down low, the perimeter players like Kemba Walker, Gary Neal, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrest get better looks. The Hornets are in a much better place with their healthy roster and off season acquisitions than they were last year.
Keys To Victory
Own The Paint
The Hornets run their offense through Kemba Walker’s aggressive play and Al Jefferson’s low post presence. By eliminating the veteran’s game, the Hornets will have to rely on a drive and kick jumpers. If Bogut, Green, and Ezeli can hold down the paint, the Warriors will have the upper hand. Hopefully they prepped for this in practice. No teams in the league can match the outside shooting of the Warriors.
Push The Pace
Young teams like the Hornets tend to fall into the pace of the game. The Warriors can certainly grab boards and get out in the open court. They’ve gone away from that against the older teams such as the Spurs and Nets but it’ll fall in the Warriors favor to get running.