The Golden State Warriors (16-16) travel to the Barclays Center to face the Brooklyn Nets (10-19) at 7:30pm ET.
This feels like a pivotal match for Steve Kerr’s side this season. After coming out in the media this week and describing the team as a “Fading Dynasty”, last night the Warriors blew a 7 point lead in the final ninety seconds against Toronto in catastrophic fashion. The Warriors looked in control for large parts of the match, but were unable to cope with aggressive double team pressing from Toronto in the clutch moments. This led to 20 turnovers and 35 Toronto points.
Perhaps a greater concern coming into this match tonight will be the condition of veteran trio Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III, & Draymond Green. All of whom look set to play against Brooklyn after notching up over 112 minutes last night.
Brooklyn enter this matchup in great form. They are 7-3 in their last ten matches and hold the best defensive rating in this period. A couple of nights ago they dismantled Minnesota with a 123-107 victory on the road. Cam Thomas made an instant impact on his return scoring 30pts off 9-15 FG attempts. The key player for Brooklyn has been Michael Porter Jr this season. He is a player that knows what it takes to win having been a part of the triumphant Denver Nuggets side in 2023-24. Now stepping up as the main star in a struggling franchise, he is putting up All Star numbers averaging 25.7 PPG.
The Matchup:
Both teams have contrasting styles and it will be a question of which team disrupts the other better across the match. Brooklyn are one of the slowest teams in the NBA this season for pace, they are methodical and like to work into the paint and score. This will likely be an issue for Golden State, that are not a particularly big team and can struggle to stop paint points as proven last night in Toronto (70 paint points).
However Golden State Warriors top the charts in 3PM, averaging 15.8 per game. This can be disruptive for a young team such as Brooklyn and lead to uncharacteristic mistakes on the defensive end.
Our Prediction:
Overall we believe that Golden State’s experience will come through tonight and see them over the line against Brooklyn.
It will be a tale of two styles, with Golden State throwing up lots of shots from beyond the arc, whilst Brooklyn look to methodically work into the paint to score.
Recent Form:
Injury Report:
Golden State Warriors: Seth Curry (Out), Al Horford (Out), L.J.Cryer (Questionable), Jimmy Butler III (Probable)
Brooklyn Nets: Haywood Highsmith (Out), Ziaire Williams (Probable)