Warriors vs. Pacers Preview: Another winning streak sure would be nice

The Golden State Warriors got a much-needed win against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, and now they conclude the four-game road trip with a contest against a solid and scrappy team: the Indiana Pacers.

The deets

Who: Golden State Warriors (17-15) vs. Indiana Pacers (15-14)

When: 4:30 p.m. PT

Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana

TV: ESPN (available on fuboTV)

Projected starting lineups:

Warriors: Stephen Curry, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney
Pacers: Malcolm Brogdon, Justin Holiday, Doug McDermott, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner

Last results:

Warriors: Beat the Knicks 114-106 — 3-2 in their last 5 games
Pacers: Beat the Wolves 134-128 (OT) — 3-2 in their last 5 games

Team ratings (garbage-time adjusted per Cleaning The Glass)

Warriors: 110.7 offense (20th), 110.6 defense (7th), +0.1 net (14th)
Pacers: 112.0 offense (12th), 111.2 defense (10th), +0.9 net (12th)

The story

Wow is it hard to make heads or tails of the Warriors right now. They flip from magical to disastrous, sometimes from week to week, other times from game to game, often from quarter to quarter, and occasionally from possession to possession.

After an at-times inspiring and at-times infuriating game against the New York Knicks, the Dubs have a chance to salvage and split the four-game road trip. And once again put themselves on the verge of that hard-to-find three-game win streak.

The Pacers haven’t played in a week due to some postponements. So it’s hard to know how they’ll be playing.

Players to watch

Warrior to watch: Kelly Oubre Jr.

Oubre has quietly but surely been transforming from a player who looked lost in the Warriors system, to a high quality role player. He’s starting to look comfortable. He’s starting to make the right reads. He’s acting more quickly, cutting more often, making the right pass and play with regularity, and generally starting to look like a valuable offensive player.

With Indy’s injuries, this game presents a great opportunity for the Dubs shooting guard to feast.

Pacer to watch: Domantas Sabonis

Sabonis will likely be playing with a chip on his shoulder after being one of about 10 players in the East who were snubbed in the Tuesday All-Star Game roster reveal. The lefty is averaging 21.5 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game, while shooting 52.8% from the field and 35.8% from beyond the arc, with high quality defense.

He’s a beast, and he’ll have a point to prove against the Dubs.

Matchup to watch: Steph Curry vs. Malcolm Brogdon.

Curry was sensational against the Knicks, pouring in 37 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists, while shooting 7-for-14 from distance. Brogdon has been quietly sensational this year, and is a strong perimeter defender.

This one should be fun.

Keys to victory

• Have energy and momentum on the back end of a back-to-back.
• Take advantage of Indy’s rust after a week off.
• Win the battle of the wings.
• Competitive play from the bench.

Two in a row, Dubs. Two in a row.