🏀 Detroit Pistons vs. Golden State Warriors Preview and Prediction - 1/9/25 👀
Draymond Green returns home, where the home team is rolling
Golden State makes the trek to the Great Lakes region (yes, that is what it should be called) to take on a Pistons team that is enjoying its longest run of success in seemingly forever. Cade Cunningham and the Pistons have won 5 in a row, while the visiting legends from the Bay Area have lost 3 out of their last 5, all of which were at home.
Golden State is not having a fun time. The legendary core was broken apart this season when the front office spurned Klay Thompson and he rightfully left to Dallas, and the remnants are struggling to stay at .500 and manage their workloads with injury problems testing their depth. The recent loss of Jonathan Kuminga, who seemed to be taking a leap this season, is not helping matters, and that has been evident in their last two games, which were both blowout losses at home to Sacramento and Miami. Statistically, Golden Sate is now consistently average by almost any metric, and they rely on epic performances by Steph to get them over the hill. He is still very capable of doing so, but the burden appears significant and the Warriors will hope to save enough in the reserve tank for a playoff run.
The Pistons, on the other hand, are having a lot of fun. The Bad Boys (doesn’t really apply anymore, but hey, let’s give it to them) are rolling and are above .500 at the latest point in a season since 2018. Cade Cunningham is their unquestioned leader at this point, and the surrounding cast that was significantly boosted in the offseason has provided him with much needed scoring options and a defensive intensity that has been lacking in recent years. Even after the horrifying injury to Jaden Ivey, the Pistons haven’t missed a beat, and they will relish the opportunity to show their worth against a team that Cunningham probably grew up watching in admiration as a teenager. Over the past 10 games, the Pistons rank 9th in overall net efficiency, a dream stretch for suffering Pistons fans of the past decade.
Injuries and potential rest will play a part in this one, as Steph, Draymond, Schroeder, are all listed as questionable, while the aforementioned Kuminga remains out. Steve Kerr mentioned that Gary Payton II and Brandin Podziemski could return on this road trip, but that will not happen tonight. With the second game of a back-to-back awaiting the Warriors in Indiana tomorrow, it is unclear who will rest in which game at the moment. The Pistons should be ready to go injury-wise outside of the long term injuries and barring any surprises.
The Owl predicts:
Golden State 110 Detroit 108
We first need to mention that a lot of people are dealing with tragedy in LA right now, including Steve Kerr and Draymond Green (and I am sure others in this game), and these are just people that are playing a game. We hope that everyone stays safe and our thoughts are with them.
With all of that going on and after taking a pummeling at home, maybe the Warriors need a road trip right now, and we expect them to put up one of their better efforts tonight. This should be a close one, and we are going to assume that the Warriors will play everyone (especially Draymond, who is coming home), which creates some value on the visitors here.
Consensus odds currently:
Golden State 2.5 O/U 220