Golden State Warriors vs. Detroit Pistons preview/game thread: Looking to build momentum

Golden State Warriors (36-29) vs. Detroit Pistons (23-43)

7:30 p.m. PST

Oracle Arena - Oakland, CA

TV: CSN BA | Radio: KNBR 680

Buddy blog: Detroit Bad Boys

It's probably unavoidable that we'll hear about Brandon Knight in tonight's game, not because of that infamous dunk on Sunday night but due to his absence when the Detroit Pistons visit the Golden State Warriors tonight.

In what had to be a rough 24 hours, Knight suffered a severely sprained ankle in Utah after getting dunked on by DeAndre Jordan on the previous evening. And as described by Jepyr over at Detroit Bad Boys, Knight's absence affects the way the Pistons offense operates.

The most significant development may have come when Knight was out injured for three games. The floor spacing with Stuckey starting really negatively affected the interior game of Monroe. Greg's averages with Knight out were 10.6 ppg on 32% shooting. Teams really backed off Stuckey and helped on Monroe, leaving no space to operate. Space is critical for Monroe because he does not have a traditional post game...The next few weeks if Knight is out, we will get to test this theory. I wouldn't be surprised to see Middleton get some starts instead of Stuckey.

Yes - please come test the theory. I'd be more than happy to see the Warriors contribute additional evidence.

No major predictions here, but I'm expecting a win and, honestly, this is a game that the Warriors can't afford to lose. The gap between the Warriors and fifth place Denver Nuggets has swelled to a point of looking insurmountable and the Warriors are only two games ahead of the surging Lakers who narrowly hold the eighth spot.

Let's Go Warriors.