Golden State Warriors v Detroit Pistons: Two Key Stats
1. Poole and Wiggins step up in Curry absence
With the MVP favourite sitting with a hip injury, all eyes were on the Warriors second and third leading scorers to produce. That they did; Poole’s 32 points coming on 59% from the floor and 4-8 from deep, with Wiggins contributing 27 points on 9-19 shooting.
The struggle in the fourth may have simply been down to fatigue, the Warriors also missing rotation pieces in Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr. In their second game in as many days, Poole played nearly 37 and a half minutes, with Wiggins totalling 36 and a half.
2. JTA takes Draymond role
It was a case of same style, different personnel for the Warriors in this one. Having been used sparingly up until the previous night’s victory over Cleveland, Juan Toscano-Anderson was given the starting power forward role in Green’s absence.
What he did was put a very Green-like box score, scoring just two points but having six rebounds and dishing nine assists in 37 minutes of action. That’s the beauty of having someone like him within Kerr’s system, knowing that if required, he could come in and play big minutes in the role the team requires.
It’s also worth noting that Gary Payton II stepped into the vacant starting spot left by Curry, contributing nicely with 12 points on 3-4 from downtown.
The Warriors end their four-game road trip at 3-1, now heading back to the bay to take on the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.