After a loss to Memphis last night and losing Brandon Rush for the season, the Warriors are forced to put everything behind them and play more basketball.
Pre-game reading material:
- GSoM preview: Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers preview: Venturing into Lob City short-handed
- Q&A with Steve Perrin of Clips Nation
- Steve's Q&A with me
- Kent Bazemore, Jeremy Tyler to dress for tonight's game against L.A. Clippers after Rush injury
- Clips Nation game preview
What to watch for (possibly good things)
- MOAR BAZEMORE: Kent Bazemore is on his way to achieving cult classic status at GSoM after showing that he might be able to play something called "defense" in summer league games. With Brandon Rush out - and in a game in which Andrew Bogut is also out - it would be nice to see Bazemore get some run.
- More Stephen Curry with Jarrett Jack? So far the Stephen Curry and Jarrett Jack have played together for 35 minutes and the Curry - Jack - Carl Landry - David Lee - Klay Thompson lineup is a +75.6, the highest rated unit of any in the first two games. With the Warriors now needing to redistribute Rush's minutes, might we see more of this lineup?
- Post play: With Bogut out for tonight's game, rookie Festus Ezeli will start, we'll probably see quite a bit of David Lee at center, and in the event of foul trouble might we see a bit of Andris Biedrins?
- Will we see the rookies step up tonight? The rookies are going to get some time tonight. Will they step up with a couple of veterans out? Win or lose, it's always nice to see progress from the young guys in a game like this.
Predictions (bad things):
- Losing sucks: It's almost impossible to avoid seeing this game as a loss.
- The Warriors will get dunked on, possibly many times: There are going to be defensive breakdowns if last night's game against Memphis is any indication. Against the Clippers, that means getting dunked on.
- Jamal Crawford will remain hot: Crawford has been outstanding for the Clippers in their first two games and I struggle to see how he'll suddenly cool off against this Warriors team.
As usual, leave all your thoughts before, during and after the game in the comments.