The Warriors ended their four-game road trip 2-2, getting off to a good start but dropping their last two contests after some uncharacteristically poor performances. Against both San Antonio and Memphis, the shots just didn’t seem to fall, and it didn’t help that Stephen Curry was out against the Spurs and clearly not at his best against the Grizzlies.
On Friday, the Warriors played the San Antonio Spurs without Curry (bruised left ankle) in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Semifinals. The Warriors fell to the Spurs in a low-scoring 76-74 game—the Spurs’ 30th straight regular-season home win against the Warriors. On Saturday, Stephen Curry returned and the Warriors faced the Memphis Grizzlies, losing 108-90—the Warriors haven’t won in Memphis since April 4, 2008.
After the Warriors split road trip, they return to Oracle Arena to face Brandon Jennings and the Detroit Pistons (2-3) on Tuesday. The Pistons will be playing the second night of a back-to-back after taking on the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
The Warriors must bring their best game to the court on Tuesday. Brandon Jennings, averaging 17.7 ppg, 7.0 apg, and 3.7 rpg, is one of the top guards in the NBA. Jennings joined the Pistons during the off-season after spending last year in Milwaukee with former Warrior Monta Ellis.
Over the last two games, the Warriors haven’t played like the team we saw at the beginning of the season. Their defense has been lacking, and the offense has been uncharacteristically poor. It’s true that the Warriors never do quite as well in back-to-back games, (which explains Saturday night’s loss), but with the high expectations placed on the team this year, they can’t afford to fall into an early slump.
With the Warriors returning home, the Oracle crowd should be able to get them back on track. The Warriors must work on staying out of foul trouble, especially with Detroit coming—the Pistons are known for having the most athletic big men in the entire league. If the Warriors are able to shut down Jennings & Co. and their shots start falling again, they have a good chance to start their three-game homestand with a victory.
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